attention, as well as your incredible
endurance as I bombard you with
such frightful drivel on a monthly
basis. You should receive a medal.
Or perhaps hazard pay.
Anyway, without further ado - or
any “ado” now that I think on it;
this is an ado-free zone - allow me
to proceed to the gravimen of my
text.
Many of us consider ourselves
self-taught or “autodidactic” in
our chosen careers. We’re usually
referring to the fact that we have
not had any formalized training in
a specific field. For example, I’ve
often referred to myself as being
self-taught in the area of writing.
I’ve never gone to university for a
degree in English or Journalism,
nor have I even been to a creative
writing workshop. (Some may
“WE'VE ALL COME ACROSS PEOPLE WHO
HAVE INFLUENCED OUR WORK, WITHOUT
TRULY REALIZING THAT THIS IS JUST
ANOTHER FORM OF EDUCATION.”
Ladies and gentlehumans, do you
consider yourself to be self-taught?
suggest this is painfully obvious.)
As a result, I’ve had to improve my
literary skills by personal research,
voracious reading and of course,
writing, editing and writing some
more.
Excluding myself in the interest of
modesty, there is certainly a lot to
admire about people who choose
to forgo formalized training to
blaze their own trail. It takes focus
and discipline to jump into a field
with no idea of what you’re doing.
It’s messy, and often takes longer
to see results. In some fields,
there’s a struggle to gain credibility
when you don’t have a diploma /
degree / etc. All in all, it’s a difficult
road to follow.
But are people who go this route
truly self-taught? I’m not so sure.
I think the term is something of a
misnomer. For example, in my own
JULY 2018 • 43