If someone had have told me five years ago that I would be doing a combined BA Hons. degree, I am not sure I would have believed them. I am 38 now and I was brought up to believe that only rich people go to university and believe me, I have never been rich and I dare say I ever will be. But what I lack in finances, I gain in a love for the written word.
I have written and self-published three books, I have edited and published two others. I am proud of the fact that I am the founder and leader of the Oldbury Writing Group and we have been going for just over two years now.
Even with a professional attitude to writing as the above is just a drop in the ocean to my writing portfolio, I am by now means an insufferable know it all. I still have an awful lot to learn and I can't wait to get started.
There are three main reasons why I want to do this degree:
First, I want to better myself and prove not only to me but to my family and all those that have ever doubted me (including old school teachers) that I can do this. When I was in school, I was told that I would never accomplish anything because I used to spend most of my time with my head in the clouds. My favorite subjects were English, drama, and biology and they were really the only ones I would pay any attention to, having said that I was good at French, but I know I could have done better.
Those teachers were wrong, and they should have never told me that I wouldn't accomplish anything. That is one of the reasons why I waited until I was in my thirties before I started taking writing serious enough to want to make a career out of it. I started writing when I was in my teen's non-fiction (mainly wildlife), but I never showed anyone because I was too scared I would be told I was not good enough to write. Oh, I could go on about this for a long time, but I'm not. Writing always has and always will be a form of solace for me. Some people watch films, go on day trips and/or go our drinking with friends to let their hair down. I find my solace in stories, whether I am writing them or reading them and I simply can't wait to learn more about them.
Second: I want to teach. I would love to be an English teacher in secondary education. I had a tough time of it when I was young, lack of support by teachers, being the victim of a bully (or in my case bullies) and all I really needed was support and guidance. If I'd have had that I probably wouldn't have spent twenty or so years working in factories, or dealing with high rate customers for a pittance. I might have actually become a published writer sooner than I did.
I know there are children out there right now suffering the same way as I did. Okay, so the education system has changed since then, more red tape has come about and technology has progressed. But the children still need support, that has never changed and it never will. I want to help them to believe in themselves, progress and make their learning experience interesting, so when they leave school they will know that the things they learnt in school are actually important to progress in life.
Third: With a degree under my belt, it might help me to land a literary agent and I might be lucky enough to be one of the 1% of writers that make it as big as Stephen King or James Herbert. I can show publishers how truly passionate I am about writing and maybe one day, someone will take me seriously.
I wonder if there is anyone reading this, that can relate to me. I would love to hear from you.
