The Dreaded Day Job

It was perhaps idealistic and a little naive to think that I could transition seamlessly into being a full time writer without encountering a few road blocks. I have unavoidably fallen into the curse of the aspiring writer- the day job. (Gasp!) Yes, it's true. There wasn't the miraculous appearance of a book deal or an awaiting literary agent dying to represent me the minute I devoted the majority of my days to my laptop. Now before you all start laughing at me I'll stop here to assure you that I never assumed this would happen. I hoped, sure, but realistically I was aware that my new career wouldn't be rocketing me to fame and fortune any time soon. So after a few months of focusing solely on my writing while Brandon dragged himself to work every day I had to face facts.

The first thing I realized after just a few days was that writing is hauntingly secluded work. I love my house but spending all day every day in one place will make anywhere start to feel like a prison cell. Brandon would come home from work and I would somewhat resemble a zombie. He would smile and ask me how my writing went that day and I would stare at him with little to no idea of how to respond. After about a month I had all but forgotten how to communicate with actual people. The second thing I realized after the a few more weeks was that if Brandon and I had any chance of achieving the financial goals we set for ourselves when we got married I would have to start bringing in some actual money- on a regular schedule. Bummer. As isolated as I was beginning to feel and as much as it sucked not making money for my work, I was really enjoying working when I wanted to and not working when I didn't want to. Yeah, there's that naive idealism again. 

So after throwing a minor internal temper tantrum about the nasty realities of being a functioning adult and an under-appreciated writer I begrudgingly re-entered the work force. I now bear the obligatory slash in my occupation that so many struggling artists have to endure. My name is Jenna and I'm a writer/bartender. At least I didn't have to take a job at McDonald's; but trust me, we were about 2 weeks away from that. The bartending thing is actually a pretty cool gig, which is I guess why so many actors, writers, painters, etc. do it. It gets me out of the house, I get to talk to some nice people, and I get to make a whole lot of money in a very short period of time. All in all, not a whole lot to complain about; aside from the truth that my career goals have literally nothing to do with working for tips. 

So, here's hoping that one day soon I get to drop to dreaded occupation slash and I get to be Jenna the Writer again. Because the fact remains that I flat out love to write. Even with all the solitude and the frustrations I just have to do it. I never had a choice.