Ash Wednesday! You’re not a failure because you fail: Trials + Errors in writing, and how to grow from your mistakes.

In my Senior year of high school I took a creative writing class, to my legit surprise it wasn’t as creative as I thought. I call false advertising! The teacher looked like she was melting into the floor, and she smelled like mothballs and her former husband’s pension. Now that I think of it I am not sure she had anything that she actually published before 1978. The end result was this: I got an A, but so did everyone else in the class, I made some really great friends, who I ended up going to college with, and I got called into the office almost every other week. Hey they said creative, so I went with it and ran! It’s Senior year, cut me some slack. 

Since then, not only do I not get called into the school's office anymore, instead, I have been met with praise for my view points, and creative efforts. (for real this time) That's a much better outcome. Some days when I am lacking inspiration, I'll look back on a few of those stories. I both get inspired, and cringe, 'cause some of them are written pretty poorly. Just because you are not good at something does not mean you are a failure. Failure is a mindset, it does not for one minute define who a person is.  I believe it's better to have tried something and it flops, than to be too scared to do anything at all. Which is worse? 

You can always try again, I tend to jump around to A LOT of projects, whether its in writing, art, my career, whatever. I like to do a variety of things because I'll be damned if I am bored or have a stagnant life. That is the worst thing for me is to be complacent in life. It’s too short so by all means do that creative project you always wanted to do. You’re going to grow so much even if you fail, you know for next time. 

I wasn’t always the best at cooking, my mom never taught me how to cook, but it was something I always wanted to pursue. I remember going to the library at school, and looking at cook books, this was way before Pinterest, too.  In college I was disgusted with the food on campus, I begged my mom to get me off the meal plan, and learned to cook for myself. Now, I am much more confident in my cooking skills, but what stands out more is all my “failed” dinner ideas. You just brush it off and now you know that you cannot sub out pasta sauce for tomato soup. Don’t be an idiot, just follow the recipe. Now I am finishing the process of creating my first Digital Cookbook. Things change. 

With writing, or even with anything—Lets just say for example music—you need to practice, and for awhile, you’re gonna suck. Your composition is going to suck. You’re going to want to get frustrated, and just when you want to give up and quit it all clicks, you finally understand music theory and composition. You get out of your bedroom, join a band, you really have an opportunity to get out and hone your passions and craft. 

It's better to try then to not try at all. Not trying is the real failure if you ask me. I see people that have potential, like real potential- I do not tend to surround myself with lame ass people. It always frustrates me that people just sit there and waste their talents, that's failure. Having no direction or no clue what you want to do, that's failure. Just do something, anything as long as you are putting out some sort of creative content. It is a mistake not to be true to yourself, that is the real failure. 

See ya next week! 

Ash Catcher