Hi readers,
I already tweeted that I would come up with an article or blog post to answer everyone's questions regarding what it means to be a freelance writer. So, let's get straight to it:
Q.1. What do you do?
A.1. I am a freelance writer.
Q.2. Oh, so what company do you work for?
A.2. I have worked with companies but I individuals hire me, too. I don't work for any specific company.
Q.3 So, you've done your bachelors in journalism?
A.3. No, I haven't. I don't have a bachelor's degree.
Q.4. Then, why don't you get a degree of some sort?
A.4. I don't believe I need a degree. I would never ask anyone to give education the boot but I'm personally against the current education system and believe I have nothing to gain from it. I was always a good student though. That doesn't mean I was a straight-A student though.
Q.5. Why would you say that? Don't you think there's a system that requires us to get a degree and earn? You could even work with a multi-national corporation?
A.5. To answer your first two questions: education was something that gave students a direction. People had ideas and their teachers would give them direction and the tools they needed to establish themselves and to achieve their goals. That was the intention of people who came up with the concept of schools and education. Over time the education system has changed. Schools are now "affiliated" with other international schools. The word "affiliated" is only a fancy way of saying that a school cannot sway from the path set for it by the school it is affiliated with. I believe creativity is something that we are all blessed with. Today, schools assess tests and grade us according to this standard system. We are expected to reproduce answers that examiners have included in their books. We have to spend hours memorizing these and you aren't allowed to give in any feedback or opinion of your own. That limits our creativity and the way we think.
Secondly, I cannot work FOR anyone. I will work WITH them and I don't work well with authoritative figures and employers. That means that I want them to give me work and I'll tell them "Look, I can do this for you. Just tell me what you need". They provide me with a direction by telling me what their end goal is and I help them while keeping their requirements in mind. If I were to work FOR them, that would mean that I'd have no say.
Q.6. But you would be able to travel and you'd get paid vacations too! Also, you can always work overseas and earn well. No?
A.6 No. That was the way things worked earlier. If there's anything I've learned recently it is this: you make your future and all you need is passion. I'm passionate about writing and I've developed a strong clientele for myself too. I am happy with that.
You are TAUGHT to believe you can work overseas but it's a globally known fact that the job market of today has been affected by the economic setback of 2008/2009. People with "degrees" from Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge and other renowned institutions have had to go back to their home countries because there are no jobs for people abroad. Also, people with amazing degrees from the same institutions have been fired and today, a lot of them are homeless and have no money in their pockets.
Q.7. But God forbid you fail, you would have a degree to fall back on?
A.7. I would rather fail and try again and again till I achieve what I want than put my fate in the hands of monied examiners sitting abroad expecting us to conform to their teachings. Also, let me tell you something: you never FAIL when you do something you enjoy. You merely go back a step or so but you would always be optimistic. THAT is something I can promise you- you will ALWAYS get what you want. You only need to have that drive and passion. I have always believed "you can make your dreams come true" but the education 'system' has made people so pessimistic that they would scoff at you if you told them you can get anything you want if you want it badly.
Q.7. Okayy, where do you see yourself 5 years from today? You'd be married and you'd have a family. How would you support them?
A.7. No, I won't be married. I'd rather be dead. And I mean that. Always have and always will. Also, as to where I would be 5 years from today: you seem to believe that your future is something that is set in stone for you. It isn't. If there's ANYTHING life has taught me its that things change, they keep changing and there's nothing you can do to stop that from happening. I believe in making my own future and so, far I've succeeded in doing that, by the grace of God. I don't even know if I'll die after I'm done talking to you. So, everything we do is affected by our choices and decisions every second, minute, hour, day and year. Once you recognize that you'll also realize that there's no way you can say "I expect myself to be here at the end of 5 years" and achieve what you envisaged.
I believe in free will and use it to my advantage. I don't like being asked where I see myself 5 years from today because that's something that none of us can answer.
I already tweeted that I would come up with an article or blog post to answer everyone's questions regarding what it means to be a freelance writer. So, let's get straight to it:
Q.1. What do you do?
A.1. I am a freelance writer.
Q.2. Oh, so what company do you work for?
A.2. I have worked with companies but I individuals hire me, too. I don't work for any specific company.
Q.3 So, you've done your bachelors in journalism?
A.3. No, I haven't. I don't have a bachelor's degree.
Q.4. Then, why don't you get a degree of some sort?
A.4. I don't believe I need a degree. I would never ask anyone to give education the boot but I'm personally against the current education system and believe I have nothing to gain from it. I was always a good student though. That doesn't mean I was a straight-A student though.
Q.5. Why would you say that? Don't you think there's a system that requires us to get a degree and earn? You could even work with a multi-national corporation?
A.5. To answer your first two questions: education was something that gave students a direction. People had ideas and their teachers would give them direction and the tools they needed to establish themselves and to achieve their goals. That was the intention of people who came up with the concept of schools and education. Over time the education system has changed. Schools are now "affiliated" with other international schools. The word "affiliated" is only a fancy way of saying that a school cannot sway from the path set for it by the school it is affiliated with. I believe creativity is something that we are all blessed with. Today, schools assess tests and grade us according to this standard system. We are expected to reproduce answers that examiners have included in their books. We have to spend hours memorizing these and you aren't allowed to give in any feedback or opinion of your own. That limits our creativity and the way we think.
Secondly, I cannot work FOR anyone. I will work WITH them and I don't work well with authoritative figures and employers. That means that I want them to give me work and I'll tell them "Look, I can do this for you. Just tell me what you need". They provide me with a direction by telling me what their end goal is and I help them while keeping their requirements in mind. If I were to work FOR them, that would mean that I'd have no say.
Q.6. But you would be able to travel and you'd get paid vacations too! Also, you can always work overseas and earn well. No?
A.6 No. That was the way things worked earlier. If there's anything I've learned recently it is this: you make your future and all you need is passion. I'm passionate about writing and I've developed a strong clientele for myself too. I am happy with that.
You are TAUGHT to believe you can work overseas but it's a globally known fact that the job market of today has been affected by the economic setback of 2008/2009. People with "degrees" from Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge and other renowned institutions have had to go back to their home countries because there are no jobs for people abroad. Also, people with amazing degrees from the same institutions have been fired and today, a lot of them are homeless and have no money in their pockets.
Q.7. But God forbid you fail, you would have a degree to fall back on?
A.7. I would rather fail and try again and again till I achieve what I want than put my fate in the hands of monied examiners sitting abroad expecting us to conform to their teachings. Also, let me tell you something: you never FAIL when you do something you enjoy. You merely go back a step or so but you would always be optimistic. THAT is something I can promise you- you will ALWAYS get what you want. You only need to have that drive and passion. I have always believed "you can make your dreams come true" but the education 'system' has made people so pessimistic that they would scoff at you if you told them you can get anything you want if you want it badly.
Q.7. Okayy, where do you see yourself 5 years from today? You'd be married and you'd have a family. How would you support them?
A.7. No, I won't be married. I'd rather be dead. And I mean that. Always have and always will. Also, as to where I would be 5 years from today: you seem to believe that your future is something that is set in stone for you. It isn't. If there's ANYTHING life has taught me its that things change, they keep changing and there's nothing you can do to stop that from happening. I believe in making my own future and so, far I've succeeded in doing that, by the grace of God. I don't even know if I'll die after I'm done talking to you. So, everything we do is affected by our choices and decisions every second, minute, hour, day and year. Once you recognize that you'll also realize that there's no way you can say "I expect myself to be here at the end of 5 years" and achieve what you envisaged.
I believe in free will and use it to my advantage. I don't like being asked where I see myself 5 years from today because that's something that none of us can answer.
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