Wow, this was lovely to read. I have a very similar story.

I was told I was good at writing at a young age, and unlike many other kids, knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to be a writer.

But as a child, I wasn't very capable of making concrete goals so this remained a vague aspiration for most of my life. As I got older, stuff started getting in the way. I began worrying about classic quarter-life things like romantic relationships and FOMO.

I held onto my dream by means of majoring in Creative Writing, and even published a few things in obscure lit mags, but I have yet to attain my Dream, which is to traditionally publish a novel.

This last year I finally got serious about it in the sense that I quit a full-time job to focus on writing. It's been up and down, but I'm taking more responsibility I guess.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble! Genuinely enjoyed this and related with it very much. Hearts and hugs from me xo