I am the reader I am today because of J. K. Rowling. Harry Potter was the first book series I fell in love with, which may come as a surprise to those who know my love for The Chronicles of Narnia, but Harry Potter came first, and one can only fall in love for the first time once. It was the beginning of a lifelong love of literature.
When I came to C. S. Lewis, I did not start with the tales of Narnia. I read The Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity. Lewis’s writing held a clarity of thought and sophistication and a depth and complexity that I, as a high school student, was hungry to fully comprehend. So profound an effect his words had on me that years later I would come back to Lewis as my inspiration for pursuing a life as a writer.
I am the writer I am today because of C. S. Lewis. He was not merely a writer, however, but a professor. The romanticization of this title, tied to the man himself, led to one of my greatest ambitions. To be a Writer Professor, which has come to mean something far more practical as I better understand myself and my purpose in the world.
After my MFA at ODU in 2021, a 136-page thesis novel under my belt, I embarked on the great journey of revision. The Return of the Flame was still in its childhood, and my only plan was to see it through to maturity.
My wife wanted to become a travel nurse, and that fall, she did. I joined her. In Columbia, South Carolina, I fulfilled the basic tenets of being a writer. I wrote and I read. I lived and breathed my passion and worked with the steady dedication necessary to finish my book.
There has been so much movement since that time: Texas, New York, Washington, Mexico, Southeast Asia, Japan…travel for business and travel for pleasure. In a life of continual shifting, my one constant among all the change—other than my wife—was my work.
Once travel becomes your norm, you crave somewhere to settle down, if only for a time. We returned home. Last summer, I drafted my second novel about dreams. It was my last major writing push before I transitioned to the other side of my professional life.
Briefly, I leaned away from the idea of teaching, putting feelers out for other jobs that might serve my goals as a writer, but after reviewing my past experience and original vision, the only thing that made sense was to lean into one of the few professions that seamlessly connects to writing. I wanted to be in higher education, but the only work I could find at that level was as an adjunct, and I needed full-time employment.
I secured a position at a high school in an English 11 classroom. As this school year winds down, I have been searching for what’s next.
In November 2023, I applied for a job at a junior college in my hometown. By the time March rolled around, I had put the idea out of mind because I hadn’t heard anything, but in came an email requesting an interview. I was thrilled. Preparation for the April meeting began. Within a week, I was notified that I had advanced to the campus visit in May. Just shy of three weeks later, I got a call.
“We’d like to offer you the Assistant Professor of English position.”
I accepted.
I have written a lot about finding the right balance in life. I don’t think I was ever meant to be the type of writer that sits alone all day every day for years at a time. I am a social person and I was built to interact with others.
One of my major reasons for becoming a writer in the first place was to influence people. To change people. To have an impact in someone’s life the way that J. K. Rowling and C. S. Lewis had on mine. While writing can inspire those who are alive and those to come, I want to be an active force of inspiration. I want to live, and through my living, give to others.
My perfect balance is to write and to teach equally. This year, I went from the scale favoring writing to writing almost falling off the scale. This year was a building year, but it’s hard to stomach the lack of writing I’ve done compared with how much I did in the previous two years.
Perhaps the year to come will still favor teaching more, but moving on to higher education aligns better with my original goals. I want to have time to write without total isolation; I want to teach without losing all of my time to write.
As I await the official offer from HR, I reflect on the fulfillment of my vision, or at least the next step towards it. I have had a clear idea of what I wanted for 12 years, and I have reached this milestone. The significance of this moment is profound because this culmination is symbolic of what’s to come, the goals I have yet to reach, and the work that I am only now beginning.
Onward and upward,
Lee
