It is the same story, come post graduation, the demands of real life enter and we are left not with dreams, but practicalities. Whether you returned home or found a way to rent your own place; post graduate life almost always ends up surprising you one way or another.
writing: How can I even fit it in?
You find a way. It may not be as much as you want or how you want, but the most important thing is to just keep it going in whatever way you can. If there are some days where you cannot face sitting down at the screen and typing something, do not chastise yourself for it.
These days will come, do not deny it. If you try and act as though you will still be a dedicated full time writer, you are probably fooling yourself. I am speaking from experience here. Just do what you can. If you are working long hours to make sure the bills are getting paid, and at the same time trying to get some savings, then go easy on yourself. There are only so many hours in a day. Balance is the key to it all.
Will the dream ever happen?
Yes it will, do not give up. It may seem like an ever growing mountain once you graduate. Between working a normal job and still managing to publish on blogs, tumblr, facebook and whatever endless realms of social media you have; including all those half edited stories that are sat on your laptop, it feels like it will take a miracle for your situation to change.
There is no one point in which you will suddenly realise you have everything you need to head off to a publisher, or a magazine to begin your dream career.
Take your time. Try and share your work in whatever way you can. If you do happen to be flicking through indeed and you notice an opportunity that seems like something you are interested in, then give it a look.
If you like the sound of it, then spend some time putting a creative CV together. Keep it separate from the standard one you may have already. Then write a personalised cover letter for the application, and if you feel confident then send it off.
You may find it does not go anywhere, you may get no reply or you may be told there are some areas of experience in which you are lacking.
At least with this feedback you can begin to learn some areas which you need to improve in, in preparation for next time. But there is no rush, just keep your eye out for things coming up and give it a go if you want. As for the creative stuff, just keep it up as best you can. Keep writing and keep sharing.
Try to not let the pressure get you down. You are not alone in feeling as though you are never going to get there. The world of employment is tough, especially in the creative industries where it feels as though there are so many boxes you have to tick.
Just keep the pen moving. It is not the end yet, just quite a long and winding road, but one that you are moving forward on.
