Reflect on your humble beginnings with a smile
Take a second to think about where you have come today from the time you started.
Dear writers, do you remember your first writing job?
For me, it was in 1997 in Amman, Jordan. I was in college, and I was itching to write and publish. I spoke to a friend who had already published in newspapers, and she connected me with the editor of a local newspaper.
I contacted the editor, who agreed to assign me a piece, so I wrote a review of an art exhibition in Jordan for the weekly English newspaper, The Star.
I didn’t have a computer then, so I walked to my friend's house to use her brother’s computer.
I'm not sure if she had internet at home back then, as it was not common in Jordan during those days. I remember I printed out the article and said jokingly to my friend:
"This is the beginning of wonderful things. We will remember the day when I printed out my first newspaper article."
How did I deliver it to the newspaper? I drove to the newspaper office and dropped it off.
It was my first “test assignment,” and I was terrified.
A few days later, the newspaper editor Osama Al Sharif called me to his office. I sat across from him, heart pounding, et al. He told me the article was good but needed some adjustment. He said they would take me on as a freelance writer and pay me per piece.
I was elated. He took a chance on me—a 19-year-old with no writing experience, operating solely on passion and determination.
That was my first newspaper job and the beginning of beautiful things.
Twenty-five years later, I have bylines in the best publications in the world, including the Washington Post, Elle, and Esquire, among others. I have also published a novel with a second on the way.
Take a second to think about where you have come today from the time you started.
I bet you’ll have a smile on your face.
P.S.: This is a picture of me at the office of the Star newspaper in the early 2000s: no grey hair, extra pounds, or reading glasses, but the same determination.