Will Someone Please Tell Me?

When do you start calling yourself a professional and when do people start taking you seriously? I always thought that if you are getting paid for performing the service or work then you are considered a professional.

The people around me beg to differ.

I work from home as a freelance writer and photographer. When people find out that I quit my previous job as a medical receptionist to pursue my true passion of photography (while doing freelance writing to supplement my income) they make snide remarks (with an up turned nose) and hint around that I don’t have a real job.

Excuse me?

I am paying bills, rent and buying groceries with the money I make from my “fake” jobs. People are paying me to photograph them, while a reputable business (which I had to send a resume to with writing samples before being hired) are paying me to write articles. How is that fake? I get a W2 from the freelance work and have to pay taxes on all income I receive from both the photography and writing. I also have a business license for my photography.

So will someone please tell me how I don’t have a real job?