Life's Path

I sold another copy of my play yesterday to someone in Mississippi. This is the second copy that has sold to someone who doesn't know me. I am elated. It makes me feel like a real writer. I am so glad I chose the life I did. Living in a beautiful place with a wonderful family and writing is just about as ideal a life as I could imagine. My husband has been so supportive of this choice, and I don't think I would have even tried without his belief in me. I've always loved writing, but didn't have any support when I was younger. My family reads a lot, but writing was looked upon as something as silly as theatre. 'You can't make a living doing that.' It always seemed like you did well in school, got a job that paid well enough to live, and then just did it for the rest of your life until you retired or died. You weren't expected to like your job. In fact, you would hate it but do it anyway because that's how things are done.
I'm the black sheep of my family. I don't agree with them about a lot of things, and this was a big one. I knew that I loved writing and theatre and that I hate 9-5 jobs. I hate being told what to do, and I have to always be creating or I'm not happy. Choosing to go to school for theatre was (in my family's view) a stupid thing to do. Luckily, it was still the time when it was largely believed that if you went to college (no matter your major) you could get a better job, so I got to major in theatre. They thought I would change my major, but I didn't.
I'm not trying to be down on my family. I love them, and I know they love me. We just don't understand each other. It's almost like speaking a different language. They've been proud of me. I won an award for writing at my high school graduation and got an honors award for theatre in college. Those are things that are easy for them to be proud of, and they were. It's harder to understand my role in theatrical productions, though they tried. They've changed a lot since then. I think they are beginning to understand where I'm coming from.
I think that most of my family's hesitation about trying things comes from fear, fear of failure or of going against the norm. I understand it. Who doesn't have those fears? But, when it comes to writing and theatre, I don't have those fears. That's how I know I need to do these things. Because I believe I can succeed, and I am not afraid to try. They thought I was crazy to get 2 degrees in theatre, but now I teach middle school kids theatre. They thought I was crazy to start my own theatre company, but we're on our third show and doing well. They thought the writing was the most crazy of all, but now I have a published play that is selling and have completed 2 books. I don't know if they believe in me more now, but they can't argue with concrete accomplishments. To be fair to my family, they never said I was crazy for any of these things (except the major in theatre). It was never spoken, but it was plainly obvious. Their eyes would go blank when I started to talk about the things I wanted to try, and they would nod politely. It used to make me so angry and hurt, but now I see it as fear. I understand them a little, and I think they understand me a little.
I'm really glad I chose this path, and I cannot wait to see where it leads me. I truly believe that if you love something enough and work hard to succeed, you can find a way to make it happen. Life should be enjoyed.