I'll be completely transparent, there have been times in the last couple years as a writer where I've been overconfident in my abilities. Call the been-there-done-that syndrome, but occasionally I've felt like I've reached a certain level of competence as a writer, and foolishly allowed myself to hit the cruise control.
As a senior in high school, I was in an English class with a teacher who liked me, a curriculum geared toward the students in the class who weren't going to college, and a couple years of experience writing. This was the perfect storm of apathy. I cruised like Florida Georgia Line in that class, half-hearting far too many papers because I knew I would get an A with even the slightest amount of effort.
After an experience like that, this summer's internship has been quite a nice wakeup call.
They say the first step is admitting you have a problem, so here goes: I knew/know nothing about how to write for a professional baseball team. I was used to writing both and all sides of a story, using short, thought-provoking sentences that tell a story.
Now, I'm learning how to write long sentences with lots of exciting adjectives and verbs in it, using capitalization as liberally as a Kennedy, all with the intent of
I wouldn't say I have a favorite style of writing between the two. Truthfully, I'm hoping to combine the two for my own style and implement it no matter where I go. This way, I can truthfully, artistically, and aesthetically tell stories.
If this summer accomplishes nothing else, it will be a humbling learning experience, reminding me that to be good at anything (including something I've been paid to do for 5 years), you have to put in 100%.
Always.
No matter what.
In everything you do.
"The greats weren't great because at birth they could paint. The greats were great because they paint a lot." -Macklemore
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