Like many authors, my passion for writing started at an early age.
I wrote story after story and always imagined that one day I would become a novelist.
Despite my passion, though, I found that the school system itself never nurtured or cultivated my natural talent. (Note: I do not blame the system. This was up to me.)
However, I didn’t realize as a kid that school is just about training people to have a carrot-and-stick mentality.
Do this and get the grade. Complete this and earn the certificate. Finish this and receive the diploma. (Now that I’m a teacher, I understand this mentality very well.)
It’s the same formula that everyone taught equated to success.
And, honestly, as an idealistic millennial, it seemed like the right path to follow. We were constantly told that if we followed the traditional path, we would make a lot of money and be successful.
And I believed it wholeheartedly, so writing always came second.
I still wrote sporadically, of course, but mostly because my grandmother encouraged me to use it as a form of therapy.
But I had stopped writing creatively.
In fact, I remember the exact day that I put down my pen to pursue what society told me was necessary to be successful.
It was towards the end of my senior year of high school, and my English teacher had given us a creative writing assignment.
I decided to write a play and became so immersed in it that I couldn’t stop. When I sat down to write, the words would flow like the Nile.
And when I received my grade, I was pleased to have earned an ‘A’.
But as soon as the teacher returned my paper and I saw the grade, I remember feeling the creativity leave my body. For whatever reason, pouring my heart and soul into something just to earn a grade felt incredibly draining.
From that moment on, I never looked at the play again, nor did I ever write a piece of fiction.
Everything else became more important. Going to college. Taking classes. Finding a job.
And as almost any Millennial can tell you, this was no easy task. We were saddled with debt upon graduation, and with little to no job prospects, the carrot we had been promised disappeared right before our eyes.
Since I graduated from college, I’ve been on the same carrot-and-stick track of life, namely ‘find a job and earn a paycheck’.
And it wasn’t until 2020 that I realized that there was so much more to life. Working myself to death for a paycheck that barely covered expenses even while living at home just wasn’t cutting it anymore.
With more time on my hands due to the lockdowns, I finished my first book on the generational differences within the education system. (#affiliatelink).
Right after that, I cranked out my second one. (#affiliatelink)
Then, I started marketing myself as a ghostwriter.
Next, I created my own full-service ghostwriting agency because of my newfound passion for business and entrepreneurship.
Each step has progressively led to the next, and I’m feeling more empowered now than ever.
But, most importantly, I am taking a class to rediscover my fiction writing voice that I lost when I was a kid.
And I cannot tell you how much pleasure it brings me to imagine all the stories that I’m going to create and all the books that I’m going to put out into the world that millions of people are going to read.
It’s a ton of work, though. Everyday, I spend hours of my time writing and editing, which comes at huge sacrifices.
I’m constantly weighing each responsibility against my desire to write, but I know in the end it will be worth it to find my voice again.
— Knikki Hernandez
I invite you to leave your comments below. Have you had a similar experience?
I lost my 'writing voice' while in school