In fact, I dropped out of high school when I was 16. Eventually my grandmother convinced me to return to school by offering to pay for a private arts high school/college (North Carolina School of the Arts).

I arrived at NCSA a year later with plenty of street smarts but not much book smarts. Being dyslexic, I never could spell. Grammar was something I just didn’t get. I was tagged as NOT one of the brightest crayons in the box when at public school. So I approached this new arts school with a bit of skepticism. My first written assignment in English was returned to me with a “B” and a note complementing the creativity of both the story and the spelling. This was the first time I actually was given a pat on the back on anything involving words. Mr. King opened the door for me and now, almost thirty years later, the computer has helped pushed me in.

The art world in which I have been involved, and made a living in, most of my adult life has a term many refer to as, “outsider art.” This means an artist who creates their works without the influence of others in their field. Someone who isn’t trying to follow trends or copy. Outsider art, when it is truly outside, can be very amazing or it can be bad. Both are options and as such are relative. Both can also be applied to the written word. I consider myself an “outsider writer.” I really don’t read that much. Technical things needed for earning a living, sure, or the newspaper for current events.