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don't know if anyone here can help with this but I'll give it a go. I'm 26, graduated college a few years ago and been in the work world. while I'm doing good at my job, it's soul-draining and not fun (I'm a manager at a credit card processing company).
the thing is, I have this weird dream I never tell anyone. deep down I want to be a poet. not a poet in the sense you may first think, but in the grand sense like the ones in ancient rome. don't get me wrong, I know this isn't cool and sounds ridiculous, but it's a dream I've had for a while and I feel this weird calling. I want to learn latin and get my masters in it, but I know this is so far out there. my family thinks I should stay in my job, which makes total sense and I see that from a practical stand point. but then there is this deep nagging and the more I read ancient literature the more inspired I become.
I don't know what to do. just keep it a hobby? the problem is, if I keep it a hobby there is absolutely no way I'll get to where I want to be. I could take the leap but it's out there and my only job opportunities would be to teach latin for high school or college, (which the pay is pretty good actually for both, better then what I'm doing now).
I just don't know. trust me, I know this seems silly at first but I have a very complicated world view that got me to this point and I really want to do it. I know I only have this one life, but then again part of me doesn't want to do something foolish.
what should I do? wait it out a while longer? I don't want to wait too long because I feel like I'm wasting time.
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>>18097984
Wait, I don't follow
So who do you want to be again?
Like a normal poet who writes in latin?
I don't get this distinction between normal and grand option.
Anyway, maybe just learn it hobby-stlye until you are skilled enough to make money with it. Then go full poet
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do you foresee any way of supporting yourself financially with this endeavor or are you just going to keep leeching of mummy for the rest of her life while writing your epic latin poems?
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>>18097984
Dude that sounds awesome, just compromise. Keep your current job because it is the rational option, but plan for your dream. Study latin, read poetry and write in your off time from work. You can do both theses things, and heck if your good enough then you can make a career out of it.
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>>18098026
I want to write poetry that continues the grand narrative of our place and time on earth. It's hard to describe but once you dive into literature you realize there is a grand story of humanity and writers help shape/mold/convey that story to others. I want to write something of substantial worth that will help others, ultimately.
>>18098035
I'm 100% independent financially and would continue to be if I went this route.
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>>18098042
well, it seems simple to me at this point. I consider a life lived boringly a lost life, and you are most certainly heading the boring way right now. In a hundred years people will either remember you for the poetry or forget you altogether
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>>18097984
Hey OP.
I'm in the same boat. Or. I was 3 years ago.
At age 19 I enlisted in the military (I'm 24 now). I've always wanted to be a novelist. It's been my dream since I was 8 years old and getting this job made me feel like I was giving up a piece of who I was. It killed me. It crushed me. I hated my life and who I was because I felt trap. I can't just quit the military, at least not legally. So I had to grunt through it. And I wrote here and there and I read here and there but nothing on the levels that I thought were necessary.
I didn't really attack this head on until I realized that what most novelists did was keep their day job but invest significant amounts of their time into their craft...and that's exactly what I did. I started waking up at 4 a.m. every single day and for 2 straight hours before work it was just me, my coffee, and my keyboard going at it. Then after work I'd come home and study for hours before going to sleep.
I started doing that three years ago, and I fucking love my life, man. I have an easy gig, and my free time is filled to the brim with stuff that I love doing.
I say keep the day job. Be thankful you have it. Realize poets and writers and philosophers in the plenty have been in your spot. And they will continue to be. You can definitely keep a day job and be an outstanding poet.
"A day job is freedom for the writer." - John Banville.
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>>18098042
>I'm 100% independent financially
then do whatever the fuck you want man. the world is yours.
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