The Good, the Bad, and the Caitlin.

Some people are jerks. Take, for instance, my creative writing teacher, Mr. L. He personifies every stereotype that exists about those from the Northeast being pretentious and rude a-holes. When he speaks to us lowly students, he does it in a way that constantly reminds us that we were all born within the last two decades, and therefore cannot know anything at all about the world. Because we aren't baby-boomers, because we weren't around to addle our minds with drugs in the 60s, because we were still toddlers during the era of Reaganomics, we obviously can't comprehend any words spoken, written, or thought before 1995. Obviously, we need every short story we read broken down and explained to us as if we are three-year-olds attempting to read Pride and Prejudice. And obviously, since the majority of us are from Texas, we don't got that book-learning neither (unless of course, you're not from Texas, or you are but happen to share Mr. L's love of eccentric movies and books and distaste for anything remotely concerned with pop culture, then you got that book-learning). He also constantly reminds us that none of us will ever be the next Flannery O'Connor and makes it quite clear that most of will probably never write anything good that anyone would actually consider reading. Despite his lack of people skills (or at the very least, lack of skill at interacting with us whippersnappers), his teaching skills are quite good, and I've learned so much about crafting fiction from him. Unfortunately, this new knowledge comes at the cost of feeling like an absolute dipshit every time I leave the class.

And then there are other people. People who are not jerks. Like Mrs. L (no relation to Mr. L, other than the shared last initial), my boss, of sorts. She is one of the nicest people I have ever come into contact with, she always has a smile on her face, cares about her coworkers, and is genuinely amused by pretty much everything. She has been nothing but helpful and has been showing me the ropes of magazines, including writing features and editing.

Just another aspect of the world of writing, I suppose. It's what you come to expect; you'll run into the jerks who just want to do their job, whether or not you learn anything from them doing their job, and you'll also have the pleasure of working with caring, interesting, and helpful people. Such is life, such is writing: the good and the bad, the helpful and the hurtful.