The Starving Artist by Taylor

The Starving Artist by Taylor - July 2015 Scholarship Essay

Laura Hillenbrand once said, “For me, being a writer was never a choice. I was born one.” When I was younger, I always tried to decide what my dream job was; I had phases of wanting to be a marine biologist, a fashion designer, and even a crime scene investigator. However, none of them fit; I never wanted to take the time to try to make clothes and my stomach wasn’t strong enough for biology, yet, I always wrote. I didn’t realize I wanted to do it professionally until I was ten and became so obsessed with a video game that I wanted to write a book about it. As the years went by, I wrote more stories and books about any idea that popped in my overflowing imagination. Then I knew that my goal would be to become an author.

Now in high school, I found an idea for a book that I would like to get published one day. I’ve already started to write it and plan to have it completed by the end of high school; my goal is to become a published author by the end of college, if not sooner, and I believe I have found the right idea for my debut publication. In college, I will major in English and minor in either digital arts or creative writing. With an English degree I will be able to go into many careers such as journalism, advertising, or teaching; however, my main concern with majoring in English is making my writing even better so I can accomplish my goal.

In my free time, I don’t usually go out with friends or play on social media; I write, read, or research. To me, that’s more fun than partying or stalking someone’s Facebook. I read to increase my vocabulary, see different writing styles, and find inspiration. I constantly research how to get a book published, what publishers look for, how to make my writing better, and anything that will help me progress in writing. Through my research, I found that in college I will need to have a literary fiction agent who will assist me in getting my book published. With the help of an agent and a publisher, my book could be on racks in Barnes and Noble or on the New York Times Bestseller list.

When I tell people I want to be a writer, the one thing they all have to mention is “the starving artist.” I always laugh because they don’t understand. If someone loves what they do so much that they are willing to starve to be successful in their career instead of finding another job, that’s demonstrating real passion and I admire it. With my goal of publishing a book before the end of college, I will begin making money from my publisher before I graduate; at least I hope so, so I can take care of the starving college student and starving artist phases at the same time. Laura Hillenbrand was right that people are chosen to be writers, because any normal person would choose something much easier.