I’m moving back to school soon. You probably are too. Or you graduated school a long time ago and are reading this out of boredom. No shame.
The tough part about being a writer in college is that all summer you had time to write and make plans for your writing and you had all the time in the world to make things happen. Then school starts and you realize you did barely anything and people you hate are more successful than you. It happens. Sometimes you’re busy with other stuff.
You’re busy with classes, some of which are writing, but a lot of them are gen eds that require hard work and concentration. You’re busy with friends and making poor choices. It’s college. You’re having fun. You’re busy working so that you can stay in college.
Writing is a consuming task. It requires a lot of thinking power and a lot of emotions. It’s exhausting to go through a week of work, school, friends, and family. This is one of the busiest times of your life and you’re just hanging on for the ride.
Write when you can. When you genuinely want to write, get those words on a page. Don’t force yourself to write (unless you’re a masochist and it works for you). Give yourself some slack with how much writing you produce. You’re in school to get your degree and that is your priority. Writing is great and you love it, but don’t push yourself too hard with everything you’ve got going on.
College writers are busy people. Make the most of your time and relish it.
–Em
—A short piece today. I’m really excited for school, and as such I’m thinking about including some posts about school in the future. Little stories or writing quirks in day to day college activities. Let me know what you think!
Writer Making Excuses 