I had been writing stories and songs for my son for years. I had started to think about doing something more with my material, and was working on some of my first short stories and music. I asked my Norwegian teacher if she would read through some of my work. However, my teacher told me that I had no talent for writing.

After that experience, I began to question myself. Was my work really not good enough? What was I doing wrong? In the years after that experience, as my son grew older, I continued to create an entire universe of characters and music for him, but I never wrote them down again. The doubts from my teacher’s feedback stayed with me, and it took 11 years before I was able to write again. It was always in the back of my mind; “You have no clue what you’re doing here and maybe you should not be writing?”. 

When someone you respect tells you that you should not be doing something, it can make you feel a bit spiteful and motivated to prove them wrong. How satisfying it would be to show my teacher or other naysayers my work some day and say, “Look, I wasn’t just a fake, I wasn’t a loser, I did something.” I won’t give up. I’m stubborn. I am 40 years old and live in a 28 square meter flat. I don’t have a car and I don’t have any savings. But I do have a strong inner motivation that tells me I am doing something right.

There is so much going on in my head, and it needs to come out somehow. Writing and making music is a way for me to express myself, and even though it hurts when someone rejects my work, I know that it is part of the process.

Now, I am still writing, and I am currently recording a children’s song album. I am also working with a theater group to set up small performances. I don’t have big aspirations of fame, but I love what I do, and I know that I will still be doing it in five years. It’s not about making it big or getting recognition; it’s about doing something that brings meaning to me.