So this is adulting.
You enter a new phase of your young life. You get the opportunity to learn, grow and gain professional working experience.
You wake up, get dressed to impress, and exceed expectations in exchange for a hard-earned check.
You’ve got your job. And you’re the sole governor of your money.
And it feels good. You start getting a hang of the dance.
And you do it again…
and again…
and again.
Then the novelty wears off. It always does. And the awareness of the cycle sets in.
This is the point where people have different mental trajectories.
Here's where my mind took me:
"Is this underpaying, energy-draining 9-5 routine really gonna be my long-term reality?"
If you've asked yourself this question multiple times, then you'll definitely relate to the rest of my ramblings in this piece, especially if you're a young writer.
It’s the adulting dilemma.
You’re increasing your altitude in professional development and one day you realize that your body, mind, and soul are on corporate autopilot.
Then, if you were fortunate enough to have this awareness, your mind is bombarded with questions from the desperate voice of your inner creative (for me it was more of a subtle whisper in the middle of Manhattan train traffic):
“Is this what you want to do with your life?”
“Is THIS it?
Constantly spinning in this cycle?
Spending the rest of your life making rich people richer?
Competing for scraps and empty titles?
And they can barely repay you with a decent salary because of a lack of experience and seniority? “What - do you want - to be?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well…what do you like?”
“I like to write.”
Then write.
Work for now. Build yourself up. Don’t let this job be your life. See it as a means to an end. See it as a means to support yourself while you’re growing your wings in preparation to soar courageously into the future of doing what you love for a living.
As you can tell, I talk to myself a lot.
But I’ve often found internal dialogue to be incredibly useful (both out loud, and on paper). I’ve been journaling since I was fourteen (I'm twenty-five now). Serious journaling evolved into sharing my writing. Sharing my writing is now evolving into exploring avenues where I can write for a living.
That exploration led to hearing about this thing called copywriting.
It’s funny because I was a Business major in college and I don’t remember doing a course in copywriting…ever.
Anyway…it caught me.
The idea that this path can meet the needs of individuals and businesses with writing.
A journey of earning a living while honing a craft that I love.
The reality of being passionately creative and strategic at once.
The mix of fundamental marketing and imagination.
Harnessing the power of words to craft voices and capture essence.
I like it. Picasso 👌🏾
I know it's not some new phenomenon.
And yes, there are other options for writers. But copywriting feels like the right fit for anyone who wants the freedom to create while also honing a valuable (and profitable) skill.
I decided that this is one of the skills I want to master.
So I took the plunge. I started my binge into all things copywriting.
Here's where it’s taken me so far:
I started an online copywriting course by The Creative Copywriter, a UK-based award-winning, industry-topping copywriting agency 📝👨🏾🎓
My first copywriting read: Copywriting Secrets by Jim Edwards. My next one is gonna be Influence:The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini (I'm a proud book-worm so I don't mind the reading 🤓)
Created my Clippings.me portfolio (still working on it…😅)
Using my LinkedIn to showcase my writing and make genuine connections with seasoned and budding copywriters. And well…that led to meeting Carolyn (Hey C! 👋🏾😁)
And here you are reading my blog post on a copywriting newsletter because of that very connection.
How bout that!
These bullets I shared aren't meant to be a holy grail to copywriting success. It’s just to show you what the beginning of my copywriting journey looks like. You'll have your own path. Some things may overlap but your journey will reflect the uniqueness of who you are.
And there's enough room for each and every one of us to grow and soar into copywriting success, with discipline and commitment of course.
If you’re a young writer who wants to do what you love for a living but is still on the fence after making it all the way to the end of this post, maybe this last gif will give you that extra push:
Did it work?
If it did, welcome to Word Tonic. You’re in the right place 😉.
-RP
Rochella Providence
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, Rochella is a young evolving copywriter with a background in business and marketing (with a sprinkle of other interests she likes to dabble in).
She's a passionate writer on a journey of helping individuals and brands craft voices that tell their stories and capture their essence while crafting her own.