The Mad Minstrel

I am surrounded by amazingly talented people every day. No, that’s not my secret, that’s my reality. At work, I sit side by side and go toe to toe with people who have completed their Masters or Doctorate Degrees. With my budding writing career, I work with the most wonderful people who went to school for Journalism or English Literature, talented authors who have already published their books and are able to write for a living.

My secret; I dropped out of high school at sixteen, got my GED, and never finished college. For the longest time I was ashamed of my lack of education. I thought it made me less… less important, less worthy, just less.

For the record, feeling lower than other people is not exactly the way to a winning self-esteem.

The funny thing is, when I actually took a look at my life, I realized I wasn’t uneducated. I’ve had a lifetime of hands-on learning. Yes, a formal education might grant me the technical skills needed to be a better writer, but my life will give me something to write about. And hell, if I want to improve, I’ll do what everyone has to do; I’ll learn from my mistakes and get better over time.

I’m not saying this as a personal revelation, I love my life’s journey and I’m happy with the direction I’m going. I’m telling you because I’ve seen a lot of people struggling with similar issues and I’m not fond of the shaming I’ve seen within the writing community.

There are many roads to success and one isn’t any better than another.

Though… a little advice, if I may? Work hard at whatever you do, never stop learning, and be a good human. The rest will work itself out.