(Short Essay) Keep On Writing As a Hobby Or a Job

OK, I'm back online again after being offline for about a week. Although I basically like offline better, sometimes I miss online too. As a writer or blogger, it's impossible to work properly without being connected with internet, is it? Especially in today's era. Now, I like to write a short English essay. My English is not perfect. Therefore I write in English as an exercise for me. I never show-off my English ability in front of anyone, because I know there must be some people who can both speak and write English much better than I do.

Anyway, is writing a hobby or a job? We know that such question is often asked by many people every where, either online or offline. Mostly, people tend to think that writing is more like a hobby. Okay... there're some professional writers who can earn good money from writing. But, still many people believe that it's important to start writing as a hobby first. It means we should have enough passion in writing before we decide to make it as a full-time professional job. Personally, writing for me is both a hobby and a job. Since in Indonesia books are not easily sold-out, I realize I must have other job too in order to get money to live. I write book, teach English, and have a small business with my sisters.

As a good activity, I'm sure we often read or heard many quotes saying something positive about writing. Here are some of them: 1) "If you wait for inspiration to write you're not a writer, you're a waiter" - Dan Poynter. 2) "If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot" - Stephen King. 3) "Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write" - Annie Proulx. 4) "Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That's why it's so hard" - David McCullough. 5) "You fail only if you stop writing" - Ray Bradbury. 

Alright, the next ones are in Indonesian: 1) "Syarat menjadi penulis itu ada tiga: menulis, menulis, dan menulis" - Kuntowijoyo. 2) "Menulis dan membaca, bagai sepasang kekasih. Belahan jiwa yang saling menguatkan, mengingatkan, dan saling memperbaiki" - Dora Febrina. 3) "Menulislah, karena tanpa menulis engkau akan hilang dari pusaran sejarah" - Pramoedya Ananta Toer. 4) "Semua penulis akan mati, hanya karyanyalah yang akan tetap abadi" - Ali Bin Abi Thalib ra. 5) "Menulis adalah suatu cara untuk bicara, suatu cara untuk berkata, suatu cara untuk menyapa, suatu cara untuk menyentuh orang lain entah di mana" - Seno Gumira Ajidarma. 

I'm sure each one of us has personal quote of our own too. Even though many people saying writing is a good activity, we certainly can't expect every one to be a writer. It's not an obligation for every one to be a writer. As a hobby or a job, people are free to choose any activity they like to do. I never consider myself as a very active writer or blogger. Sometimes I wrote, sometimes I don't. It means I don't implement some of good quotes proportionally... haha. Don't get me wrong. Those quotes above are actually very good. But, we certainly have our own opinion too about writing, right? OK, that would be all for this moment. Thanks for reading.