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What Does It Take to Start to Call Yourself a Writer?
Do whatever it takes, and start believing in yourself.
Sometimes courage manifests in the most ordinary ways — a sentence you say, a step you take, a decision you make. Sometimes it looks tiny from the outside — so insignificant, that no one else considers it to be brave. But maybe for you, it is. It could be overcoming your fears and doing something that you have been postponing forever. It could be telling others about something that you have kept a secret. It could be standing up for yourself in a situation where others don’t even know that you were holding back.
A few weeks ago, I did the unimaginable. I told the world about my writing. See, it might seem really insignificant for you. But for me… it was my world, it was my secret, it was my confession. I typed a post about it on facebook, on my birthday, attached an article, hit send and then, only then I gasped and I started to shake. Silly? Maybe. It was an enormous step for me. I allowed my friends and acquaintances and colleagues inside my head. I opened up for the possibility of getting hurt, ridiculed, shamed. I was scared and I did it anyway. That’s what courage is about.
As long as I remember, I have always wanted to be a writer. I dictated my first poems to my mum when I was four — words mesmerised me…