I Never Meant to Become a Freelance Writer

Apr 20

I’ve always know that writing is my first love. I hardly complained when I had to write countless essays centered around the word of the week in grade school. In my mind, nothing could be more exciting than using my imagination to bring a word to life. And whenever I was challenged to edit, it gave me a chance to learn how to look at things from various angles.

Honestly, I think it was my mother’s magazine subscriptions to Jet, Ebony and Essence that helped plant journalism seeds in my young mind. When I’d get tired of reading my picture books, I used to reach for one of her magazines and read different articles aloud. I soaked in everything from feature-length articles to style/beauty round-ups. Duality.

Honorable magazine mentions:

Vibe, Honey, Seventeen, Cosmogirl, Nylon, InStyle, Allure

From there, one of my best friends and I began writing fan-fiction based on our mutual love for a once popular boy band. Somehow we managed to fill numerous composition books complete with character names and personality/physical appearance descriptions. I’m not afraid to say there were many times I would lock myself in the bathroom so I could write in the tub with very few distractions.

By the time I was a junior in high school, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up - a successful and respected journalist. It wouldn’t be until much later that I made a slight distinction to that - a successful and respected Black journalist - but more on that later.

I felt filled with unshakable hope but I didn’t know when or how it would happen.

Gigi Pip Ezra Western Hat Dark Oak Jasmine Jenai — *Gigi Pip Ezra Western Hat - Dark Oak*

Fast forward to the present and I’m finding myself taking what feels like an unconventional route. Although it’s not full-time just yet, my career as a writer has been underway for a little over one year and there have been highs and lows. One thing I’ll never do is discredit how I felt about the kind of career I wanted, but I was becoming stoic about how my path should look. Sometimes I still have to fight against that stoicism, but life always has a

way of showing me it’s okay to re-imagine things. It’s funny because I can kind of laugh at my limited view of my career path. I mean, maybe being a freelance writer wasn’t what I initially wanted to do but it’s opened up opportunities I’m grateful for. I was able to start building my portfolio while pursuing my Bachelor’s degree in communications and juggling being a first time mom. Whew. No easy feat.

The point is that I think it’s okay to detach from a specific outcome so I can let myself be surprised. I’m still working on it but, baby steps count. They always have and I can proudly say this when someone asks me what I do for a living:

I’m a freelance writer who covers topics such as beauty and relationships.