Thursday, June 26, 2008

The story behind the glory

Hello. My name is Mildred Achoch. I am a full-time, freelance writer.

I love my job. Not many Kenyans can say that. Over fifty percent of my compatriots live below the poverty line. For them, a job is not an avenue for self-actualization; it is the avenue to survival.

Two factors allowed me to totally disregard survival in favour of self-actualization. First, I am blessed with a caring and relatively well-off family, family here including the extended family and ‘well-off’ meaning that we have never gone to bed hungry. Oh there were some close calls but thankfully, things never got to be very bad.

The second factor is that I am an INFP.

Family and an INFP personality played a key role in my turbulent path towards my dream job. For over five years, I have kept under lock and key my struggles as an aspiring writer in a developing country; a developing country that is full of people who view writing as a hobby, not a career. Today, I share with you an (edited) excerpt from my journal that details the story behind the glory of being a writer.

Look out for INFP-related words such as 'feelings' and 'depression'. And yes, there is a touch of melodrama! So come, take a peek into my past.

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