I’ll have to admit, this has been the most frustrating 6 months of my life, and I know it won’t be over any time soon. I’ve worked for my own money since I was 15 (or younger, if you count babysitting). Even after college I found a job in less than 3 months. With all this time on my hands to think, I’ve learned a few things.

One thing I’ve learned is that I could never be a stay-at-home mom. I hate housework, and my brain gets bored. I’ve even started watching the Military channel occasionally, and I’ve never liked that kind of stuff! I’ve gotten bored with all the facebook games. I even stopped blogging because I just had too much to say! I couldn’t get it organized enough to get it out here. I suppose that’s from having no one to talk to all day.

Another thing I’ve discovered is that many of the people who write and post ads for jobs requiring a college degree can’t write or spell. Some of the most memorable were the ad for a “millwrite” (should have been “millwright”) and the one that stated salary would be “commiserate” (should have been “commensurate”) with experience. There were so many others I simply couldn’t keep track of them all.

Yet another thing I’ve discovered is that I’m not “qualified” for the job I’ve been doing for the last 6 years. Because I don’t have a degree in my field, most don’t bother to look at my experience. I find that especially frustrating, since many of the documents I edited in the last few years were written by people with several degrees, who were frequently unable to construct a logical sentence, or even use the correct word for the context.

I love what I do, and it’s innate to me; it’s simply a part of who I am. I edit and rewrite things in my head even when it’s not work. Now, I face the choice of having to spend several years to become “qualified” to do what I love, or finding another occupation. I’ve had several other jobs in my life, but nothing has ever given me the joy that I find in writing and editing.

When I’m writing, I enjoy the challenge of putting down my thoughts in such a way that other people “get it.” I like to make them ponder, or remember, or feel my outrage. Sometimes, the thoughts just flow out of me complete; sometimes a thought or idea will roll around in my brain for days, nagging at me and picking up pieces here and there like a snowball, until it grows so large that it rolls down the mountain and out my fingers.

When I’m editing, I don’t care anything about who gets the credit. As a graphic designer, the goal is always to reflect the style and personality of your client in the work you do for him. I approach editing the same way. I don’t try to take the author’s individuality out of the writing; each person can be appreciated for his own unique style. The joy is in taking a document that can give you a headache just trying to follow it, and making it into an informative, useful piece of writing that the author can be proud to have his name on.

I guess that’s the joy of it all in a nutshell. I enjoy the process of creating, organizing, and conveying ideas and concepts, whether they are mine or someone else’s. For me, there’s just nothing like it.

Now if I could only figure out how to get paid for it…