You're Not Special

I have heard a lot of life stories from a lot of people. And if there is one thing I am reasonably sure of, it's that you're not special.

Everybody has the same experiences. We all have the same general fears. We all have the same secret desires that we never tell anybody.

And do you know why you think that you're special? It's because you never tell anybody these things. You're too afraid or embarrassed to talk about your shameful secrets, so you never discover that almost everybody has shameful secrets, and that most people have the same ones.

When something is new to you, you feel special, even if it is something that everybody else has already experienced. (This is notoriously visible in new relationships.) If it happens to you, don't feel too bad. After all, it happens to most of us.

The one nice thing is that not being special can be a real positive.

I believe that anybody can be a good writer. Anybody can be creative. Some people may do it more easily than others, but anybody can learn how to do it and how to get better at it. Ultimately, it comes down to diligence, first to study, second to practice, and third to reflect (which is arguably studying, too, but studying yourself).

Good writing doesn't require anything special, which is good because you're not special.