When I began my University studies, all incoming students were required to complete an English essay. This was basically done to judge our creative writing skills and to ensure we would be able to handle the courses and their writing requirements. Sometime later, the scores were posted outside. Although I worked hard, I was not normally an A student, so when I found my score near the top of the hundreds of students, I was surprised. Later on, I wondered whether I should have pursued a degree focused on Creative Writing instead of Journalism. Although I’ve always been grateful for the writing discipline my degree taught me, there have been times when I wished I had pursued something less “practical.”

Now, years later, I have dropped any pretense of being practical, and I’m doing the kind of writing I love, knowing that whether I succeed or not, I will have gone after my passion. I really can’t see any downside to that, no matter what your age. I believe at the end of our lives, we will have infinitely greater regrets over those dreams we failed to chase than the ones we went after. The recipe for success is different for every person, but I believe the efforts to pursue what most brings us alive are always worth it. God plants those desires in us for a reason, after all.