First and foremost, I have a need, a compulsion almost, to write and create but I must be able to do so at my own pace. Deadlines and the like tend to make me panic and rush, and my characterization and plot often suffer as a result. I need ample time to create anything of real value, a story that the reader can be completely immersed in.

My writing style came about through several years of trial and error as well as listening to the opinions of the people who read my stories. This has been a very long and at times painful process. Almost more than I want to write, I want to be able to teach other aspiring authors what I’ve learned and to help them make their own unique voices heard.

Part of this is so others don’t have to experience the humiliation that comes from making silly, avoidable errors simply because they hadn’t been taught any better. The larger part, however, is that it never fails to depress me how few people seem to know even the most basic rules of writing. Proper language skills are fading. I’d relish the chance to bring them back, even just for the limited few that I would be able to reach.

And, finally, perhaps the most important factor in the career I’m pursuing is the desire to use my words to make a difference. Novels and other printed media have been opening eyes and changing minds throughout history. Racism, sexism and homophobia are more rampant in this, the age of ‘freedom’, than in almost any other I’ve ever read or written about. With the injustices still present in the world today, it would seem that we need people not afraid to go against the status quo more than ever.

I believe that I’ve found just such an ideal job as a professor of the English language. That’s why I’m seeking a degree in language and literature. I believe that, by following this road, the world I’ve spent so much time writing about can come one small step closer to being reality, one word at a time.