Acclaimed sportswriter Red Smith said, “Writing is easy; you just open a vein and bleed.”

As it turns out, Red was right — writing is a lonely, sometimes soul-sucking battle. Throughout my writing history, the main players have been myself, a pen, a legal pad and a laptop. After years of trying to master the craft, I have learned only a few things:

1. Mastery is impossible,
2. My best writing is first produced by hand in the middle of the night, and
3. I love this, even when I hate it.

On the eve of my fourth semester of college, I have realized that growing up to do what I love is more difficult (and more expensive) than I ever imagined. College has taken a lot of mental, physical and financial strain lately. It has both affirmed that my lifelong love of writing will one day be my full time job, and has…