Lit eZine Vol 2 | p-1 | From The Lit eZine Desk

At LIT eZINE we aspire to create a collective of lone voices and make them heard.

Hello readers!

Welcome to this issue of LIT eZINE with our special Valentine Reads, ’cause it is the season of love ♥

The other day a tweet from a fellow writer on my timeline caught my attention. The question was- 
“Do you become a writer only when you start earning from your writing?”

The writer in question was quite distressed, and rightly so. To question the very existence of a writer or base it on their earning potential is unfair. Why do we equate a person’s identity with their career? Why is a person only what he or she does for a living? 

What you do to earn is your chosen profession. Is that your sole identity? No. Not in my opinion. If a banker writes stories in his free time, won’t he be a writer? If a doctor begins to work only as a charity, treating poor patients for free, will that doctor not be a doctor anymore because being a doctor is not a paying job now? Is a parent not a parent because it isn’t a paying profession? Am I not a cook, and a good one at that because I don’t sell meals to my family?

Sometimes, people have weird notions about things. The question I ask you is- 

Why do we let other people’s opinions ruffle our feathers? Our life is ours to live, and we get only one chance at it. Why, then, do we give others the right to judge us, or dictate the terms of our existence?

We are individuals who are works in progress. Our beauty lies in our individuality, not in our sameness. We need to assert our right to be who we are, unapologetically. Society should not dictate to us our very identity. 

So I say, writers, you are, because you write. Even if you don’t manage to earn a living by writing alone. Even if you never ever sell a book or story. You are a writer because you write. You are a painter because you paint. You are who you are because you choose to be, not because it is your job. You are bigger than your job. You are more than what you do. You are. And that is what everyone should love and respect about you.

Today, assert your right to be YOU, unapologetically!

Enjoy the magazine and don’t forget to subscribe, if you haven’t done so already.

Cheers!

Don’t forget to support Lit eZine! Share this page forward.