The Evolution of a Creative Writing Major

Coming into college, I was very focused on a certain type of writing—fiction, particularly novels. In high school, I completed many Young Adult novels and had completed one novel for middle-school-aged children. Though I knew I’d have to stretch myself in terms of writing other kind of works during my four years at Susquehanna, I figured this would continue to be my creative focus.

Throughout most of my freshman year, I was pretty certain about my aims as a writer. I really enjoyed my Introduction to Fiction class, where we wrote short stories, but I knew it was no coincidence that most of my short stories were on the longer end of the spectrum. Even my professor seemed to recommend elaborating on my stories when they were already over ten pages long. The stories in my head just don’t seem to come out in short story form. I think this is one thing that has remained consistent for me as a writer.  I love fiction, but short story is not my forte. Next year, I need to take a class for my Advanced Writing requirement. I could take Advanced Short Story, but I much prefer the idea of taking the Novel Writing course instead.

However, I certainly haven’t worked on novels at college as much as I had anticipated as an incoming student. I have never been the best at time management, and I think college makes time management all the harder since there’s so much to do. In high school, I could have friends and activities to keep me busy, but ultimately, I went home at the end of the day. When college is your home (at least when school is in session), those things surround you.  Maybe this sounds like I'm making excuses. I might be to an extent. Though I love writing and do think I should be more disciplined, it’s hard to imagine regretting any of the times that I spent immersed in activities important to me or just chatting with friends. I have a whole life of writing ahead of me, but only four years of college.

When I do have time to write now, I usually end up writing poetry. This is not what I expected at all my freshman year. It’s funny that I'm so surprised by it, since looking back at high school, I definitely did write poetry. I never took it seriously, though. Poetry was this complicated thing that I just did poorly as an emotional release—not something I could master. Last school year, though, I began to write poetry more and more frequently and with a bit more seriousness. It especially helped that I began finding poetry that I liked to read. I was still not sure, however, if it was something I should think of as any more than a hobby. My Intro to Poetry class during the spring semester led me to produce some poetry that actually made me feel proud and gave me some validation that, even if I was far from where I wanted to be as a poet, I still had some talent—I had someplace I could start.

Poetry continues to be my genre of choice at the moment.  I am currently in an Intermediate Poetry workshop, where we are working on formulating chapbooks. Chapbooks are small collections of writing, typically under 40 pages. The topic that will tie together my chapbook is women in the Bible. So far I have worked on poetry that explores the perspectives of Mary, Martha, Yael, and Delilah and have also done some poetry that looks at reading the Bible as a woman.  I am very excited about this project and often very inspired by my Women in Biblical Tradition class.

I am interested in pursuing poetry and seeing where it takes me, but I also hope to make more returns, and soon, to fiction, the genre that  really kindled my passion for writing.

Finals...Dun Dun Dun!

It's the last week of classes, and finals are almost here! This week I need to get a lot of work done on my final papers. Tonight in particular, I need to make progress on one of my papers because I have a conference with my professor about it tomorrow. This paper is for Aesthetics & Interpretation and is about the sitcom Seinfeld and its intersection with Aristotle's thought son comedy. It's been a lot harder to get started than I anticipated. I will also be getting a final exam for this class soon, but it will probably be a take-home, essay type of final.

My other final paper is for Luther: Life & Thought. It's due later than my other final paper so I'll admit it's been on the backburner. I think, once I have really got my thesis tacked down on this, it'll be a lot easier than my Aesthetics paper. I've actually enjoyed doing the research for it and feel as if I have a lot to draw on already, though I do need research in some more areas now that I've made my topic more specific. My paper has a lot to do with pre-Reformation figures--people who came before Luther--and how their thoughts and theologies paved the way for Luther's more revolutionary ideas.

My only "traditonal" exam, having multiple choice, short answer, essays, etc., is in my Asian Religions class, so I'll have to start reviewing for that shortly. I felt like I had a much better understanding and more interest in the first half of the semester, which focused on Hinduism and Buddishm, than this half of the semester, which has focused on Confucianism, Daoism, Zen, Chinese Buddihism, etc.

For Poetry, I need to turn in a final portfolio. I'll be conferencing with my Poetry professor on Thursday and getting feedback on a lot of poems I've turned in this half of the semester. After that, I feel like I'll have a better vision of which poems I want to work on and how much work they'll need.

Overall, I have a good number of things to accomplish before the end of the semester, but I'm not at the point where I'd say it's an overwhelming amount. I am confident in my ability to get all these things done--while still managing to eat meals, not spending all my time in the library, and not going crazy. During mid-terms and finals times, I always feel like I'm generally less stressed than a lot of other people I know. It makes me wonder if I should be more stressed, and it does make me feel a bit guilty. Even so, I'm going to look at it as a fortunate thing!

There's work to get done...and get done, it will!

Midterms and Spring Break

It’s midterm time here at Susquehanna which means it’s almost time for Spring Break! I’m so excited to be going home on Friday. Unfortunately, there are some things I have to finish up before then.

My main task to complete before break is my Aesthetics and Interpretation midterm. This was a take-home midterm. I have to write 2 essays, roughly 2 pages each, which didn’t sound too difficult until my professor estimated it would take four to six hours. I really need to start on these essays tonight. I’ve blocked out two hours today to work on them. I’ll have to see how far that gets me!

I also have some more work to do for study abroad. As I mentioned before, I’m already approved by Susquehanna, but I have stuff to do for the program provider, IFSA Butler. I need to do a few paragraphs about myself and an academic statement, among other things, and get them sent out to Butler as soon as I can. I also have to make some choices on my housing preference form for where I’d like to live that semester. At least I have my ideal courses selected—Magic and Witchcraft in Early Modern Britain and Ireland, Writing the North: the Literature of the Troubles, and From the Vote to the Pill: Twentieth Century Women’s Writing. This would give me the elective credits I need for my Creative Writing major, as well as one religion elective for my Religion major.

For my Poetry course, I need to turn in three revised poems, but fortunately, the due date for that was pushed back to Monday so I will have some time to work on them at home, if need be.

At least I have one midterm done. Today I took my Intro to Asian Religions mid-term exam which included multiple choice, true or false, short answer questions, and an essay. I took up all the allotted exam time (I was jotting down my last sentence with 90 seconds to spare), but I feel confident about how I did.

I do not have many plans yet for Spring Break, though I certainly want to get in some sleep and relaxation.  A lot of friends from high school seem to have overlapping spring breaks this year so I’m planning on hanging out with them for sure! I am also going to be meeting with a historical society in Harrisburg to discuss a summer internship possibility in their archives. I also have a dentist appointment which is decidedly less exciting. No matter what my plans might be, I’m quite excited to be heading home Friday. 

At Schools Not So Far Away

Last night, I went with some members of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship to Bucknell University for a talk and a Q&A with David Lamb, author of God Behaving Badly: Is the God of the Old Testament Angry, Sexist and Racist? and Old Testament scholar. He addressed some of the problematic texts in the Old Testament and our popular conceptions of God, as portrayed in the Old Testament. Then the room was opened up to questions. This was particularly interesting since people came into the talk with vastly different opinions about the Bible.

According to Mapquest, Bucknell is about 13 miles away. Its proximity is what allowed for such a short-notice trip. Our InterVarsity chapter didn't plan on going until the night before.

A few weeks ago, for my Introduction to Poetry course, we met at Bucknell to attend a poetry reading by Mark Doty. The class broke up into different cars, got oursevles there, attended the reading, and got back to Susquehanna all within, approximately, the normal timespan for our class.

These two times, I've only seen Bucknell in the dark, but I'll be able to see it in the light later this month. Bucknell will be hosting InterVarsity's Dig-In, a weekend-long conference that brigns together students from different colleges in the area to study Scripture. Last year Susquehanna hosted, which was super convenient for us. This is also convenient for Susquehanna students because, at the end of the day, we'll be able to return to our dorms rather than stay overnight with Bucknell host students, which is what students who come from farther distances will be doing.

Penn State is much farther away than Bucknell but it is still a reasonable distance for special trips. This semester, I went with a gorup of friends to a concert at Penn State's Bryce Jordan center called Witner Jam.

Visiting these colleges inspires some reflection on Susquehanna. Penn State, for instance, feels like an entirely different world. It's enormous and bustling and overwhelming, and I can't really imagine going there. Bucknell also seemed to have a different atmosphere than SU.

I know that other students and student groups sometimes visit these schools for concerts, readings, etc. It's not something I usually take advantage of since I don't have a car; in fact, these are the only three instances wehre I've been to other schools while at Susquehanna. Still, though there's plenty to do at Susquehanna, it's nice that there's the option to drop in on other colleges when there's special events that interest you. The best part is that after said events, at least if at Bucknell or Penn State, it's not too long before you're back to being cozy in your room at Susquehanna.

The Happy Kind

It’s the second day of classes, and I still feel quite optimistic about this semester. This schedule is more tailored to my interests than any other semester. All four of my courses apply to my two majors. Aesthetics and Interpretation and Intro to Poetry go toward Creative Writing, while Intro to Asian Religions and Luther: Life and Thought obviously go toward Religion.

So far, I’ve liked all the classes I’ve had. The only thing left to experience is my Intro to Poetry class. That class is as night class, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I haven’t had any night classes yet so it’ll be interesting to see how I like that. I’m guessing it’ll be good that, out of all classes to have at night, I have poetry—something creative that I’m interested in, and something that will often be interactive because it’s a workshop course. One of the big problems I’ve heard from those who have taken night classes is that it’s difficult to pay attention, especially towards the end of class and especially if the subject matter doesn’t interest you.

Other than that, I’m still in that period of adjusting back to school life. I think I’ll feel like things are back to normal once the activities I’m involved in restart. Beyond changing classes, there are a few other differences between this semester and the last. Some people I know have gone abroad this semester, while other people have returned. Our dorm got new mattresses which I’m still getting used to as I fall asleep, though when I wake up it feels perfectly comfortable (though, then, getting up and going to class is the alternative). Speaking of my room, it’s, as always, in a bit of disarray—this time from half-unpacked bags strewn all over my floor; I mean, I’ll get to them eventually. I’m also still working out a lunch routine since last semester I had pretty standard days of who I ate with and when.

Mostly, though, being back at school requires a completely different mindset from over winter break. I spent 30 plus hours at work each week at home, hanging up clothing at a thrift store—hard work, but not mentally challenging. The rest of my time I spent relaxing and watching a lot of television—some Parks and Recreation on DVD with my brother, and some Friday Night Lights, one of my new favorite shows, on Netflix on my own.  Though I saw my friends a few times over break, generally it was a break from a lot of social activity—and I’m definitely ready for that break to be over!

Overall, this week is a week of adjusting, but so far, it’s proving to be the happy kind.