As I write this, I’m sitting in Starbucks. I work here twice a week while my daughter attends dance class at the studio across the street.
At the next table are two girls who are supposed to be in the dance class with her. They were here when I arrived an hour and a half ago and they’re showing no signs of leaving. I’m guessing they’ve decided to skip.
It’s easy for us as adults to roll our eyes and mutter “kids today”. They’re wasting an amazing opportunity (not to mention their parents’ money) because they don’t see the value in it. They’re sitting there on their phones, drinking $8 coffee, playing grownup. That’s not meant as a criticism. It’s an observation that, in fact, they’re right on schedule. That’s how people, who are just beginning to enter adulthood, behave.
When we’re just beginning to enter the creative life, we behave that way too. We play at being authors. We let opportunities pass us by because we don’t yet recognize the value in them. We say that we don’t have the money or the need, to invest in a course, or the time to commit to a regular writing routine.
Sooner or later, those girls will grow up. They’ll realize that being an adult is much more than sitting in Starbucks. And sooner or later, we’ll turn pro. We’ll realize that professional writers practice their craft. We’ll start to invest time and money, we’ll study and we’ll improve.
