>>1378728As a lit dropout I can tell you this: It purely depends on whether you can actually recognize what you're learning. Theory isn't about giving you models to create, it's about giving you models you can recognize in things you're reading. College isn't going to teach you how to write, it's going to teach you how to read. The best part about it, for me, is that it allows you to expose yourself to great quantities or material. Some of my favorite writers I wouldn't have known about if I hadn't gone to college -- but the same can be said of having gone on /lit/. The push has to come from you. If you find something interesting go check it out, even if it's just a single name. Don't be intimidated by the famous or the infamous. Write about what you think is important and in the way you find beautiful, exciting or refreshing. But don't expect your studies to do the work for you, because they're the other part of the equation. And don't be worried about trying again, whether you're reading or writing.
I recently started learning an instrument because I felt I wasn't really listening to music as well as I could. It's going slow but I'm seeing progress. That's something that's also important: if you can recognize you're getting better things go a lot more smoothly.
