Freelancing, Grad School and how to be a Writer

I’m trying to decide if returning to school would be my best choice at this point. I know where I want to end up. I know what would make me happiest, and I know it is an achievable goal. I’m a writer, a very dedicated writer. I’m a photographer and an editor. I can research tirelessly and fearlessly speak to anyone. Using every skill in my arsenal, I can write, edit, lay out and publish my own newspaper if need be.
Since the moment I decided that the journalism field was where I could make the biggest impact, I’ve followed a path to bring me closer to that goal. Along the way I know that I’ve had setbacks. It’s taken me longer to get my B.A. then I ever thought it would. I had a terrible accident that left me recovering from surgery for months. Things out in the real world have bruised and battered me body and soul.
Lately I find myself with renewed purpose and dedication. I get that mythic college diploma I’ve been working for this summer. Then I face the real world out there.
To follow my dreams, I know I need more education and experience. In the meantime, I want to polish my Spanish skills, make a name for myself here and perhaps try for a graduate degree in Spanish language journalism.
Part of me is afraid that grad school would just be another way of pushing the real world further into the future. Yet I think I can make excellent contacts and open up new opportunities with this program. One of the teachers used to teach at the community college I went to and she has really been a wonderful mentor all these years. She’s advised me it would be a good way to better my chances of landing my dream job. It wasn’t until I took a job working at a small television company that things really came into focus. I have experience both in student publications and internships, but all my work has been in the print world. This was my first foray into the world of entertainment and commercial television, and it wasn’t a taste I particularly liked. The print world is where I belong and where my greatest skills are best put to use. It was good as a learning experience because it was the largest media company I’ve worked for so far, and since I worked in the logistics office I got a chance to see how things really work at the top. I learned how to make great impressions and how much work goes into the corporate side of things. More then anything, however, I learned that I’m happiest when I’m writing, taking pictures and editing, and that I honestly won’t be satisfied doing anything else.
Until I land that dream job, I’ll be freelancing, doing everything I can to get published. I think that grad school might make things easier, but I know that the only way to become a writer is to write.