The market has been flooded with memoirs—both fiction and non-fiction from everyone the likes of Nicole Richie to the infamous James Frey. It's the new way of bolstering your ego; talking about oneself with the belief that people will be interested, even intrigued by the prattle of one's endeavors. Are people interested? If you are here then apparently so.
As a recent UCLA graduate and intern at a very prestigious and if I dare-say controversial publishing imprint I find myself smack-dab in the middle of the editorial job hunt in
I am extremely lucky to have developed an impressive resume with Saturday Night Magazine, LOGO MTV, and Reganbooks but no matter how many times I send out my resume, and no matter how excited I get about the hopes of a potential interview, I seem to wait in vain.
And what do you do when that fateful day comes along—an email pops in your inbox, a missed call from a mysterious 213 or 323 number appears in your phone log. You actually get to the interview and they ask you, "Why do you think you are right for this job?"
"I'm a writer, passionate about culture/politics/music/movies/the arts. I'm hardworking, dedicated—sure I may be young, maybe I don't have the experience you were looking for in your potential candidate, but I will work hard. I will prove myself."
Sure sister, good luck.
But no matter how hard I fall I sojourn on. It's hard to call yourself a writer in
I presume to call myself a "writer" because writing is what I am passionate about. I dream that someday I'll write something that I really care about, something that affects people. I want the people to learn how to correctly pronounce my name [kreesɛɪ-er-in] [kuh-nair-ee] while they are praising or cursing me. Because something I said or wrote matters.
I am no author, I am no magazine editor. I have but few clips to my name but I wake up every morning at 7:30am and drag myself to work because I have ambitions, and I know that I am going have to work hard to have a chance to do something great.
I hope that something I say and the mistakes I make will help those of you out there with the same dream. Ask questions, seek advice and write. Write when you're tired or depressed or harder still write when you feel like you have nothing to say. Just keep writing, keep trying. There is no crime worse then settling for a job or a life that does not fulfill your passions. Your life is too important to deprive the world of your voice, and to short to deprive yourself of happiness.
Fight the fight, live the dream, struggle and persevere.
Until next time.
