Hey everyone. I finally decided on creative writing for my graduate studies. Since finishing my undergraduate program in liberal studies, I had considered pursuing graduate programs in k-12 teaching; social work; mental health counseling; paralegal studies; early childhood education; film and videography; events management; library science; and several other options. But I eventually realized that all of these aren’t as interesting to me as literature and creative writing are. It finally occurred to me to just select my passion. I was kind of looking in every possible corner, except for inside myself, inside my own heart. When I was honest with myself, I found that I just simply like reading, writing, and creative literature the best. I didn’t have to look very far, I guess.
I’m currently enrolled in a master’s of fine arts in creative writing with Lindenwood University, online. I plan to work in teaching, publishing, and nonprofits, after graduation. I plan to teach high school and community college creative writing/English lit. And I might also work in the publishing industry and in the nonprofit sector as a literary agent, professional writer, editor, etc. And I also wanna be a published author, I guess… I’m always working on my poetry collections and essay collections. I plan to self-publish when done. Or I might submit to small presses/small publishing companies for their consideration.
I think an mfa in writing is flexible and versatile. And so it can open up several different possibilities, rather than training me for one specific career. I think that with an MAT in k-12 teaching, which is what I was considering earlier–it’s way more specific and specific-vocation-oriented. And same thing with librarianship; paralegal and legal work; therapy/counseling; etc. You have to train for that, specifically—for each of those roles. I guess you can’t go into it without specialized education and/or training. In contrast, creative writing opens up several different doors. College instruction; the publishing industry; nonprofit work; professional writing; etc. etc. And so I guess I made the right choice for myself, here..
I don’t know who would go for a master’s in teaching or library science or mental health counseling just to leave the profession a little while later. “I’m out; I wanna try something else, now.” But you know, in contrast to that, writing and literature can open up different options. It’s like that, by design. It’s meant to be flexible and versatile in order for you to keep your options open, if you want to… The world is your oyster (within reason, within limits), after a program in writing. It’s kinda like all the other humanities/social sciences programs, in this respect. History; sociology; anthropology; English lit; etc. etc. *I didn’t want to pigeon-hole myself and hyper-specialize, I guess. I didn’t want to choose a program that is one-track-oriented; one-career oriented. And I definitely didn’t want to regret my decision, later on.
| I’ll be paying for this master’s program by myself, and so I’ll have a strong incentive to complete it all within a reasonable time frame, and give it my best effort. I honestly think that before, with my bachelor’s degree, a lot of it was general education classes that I was just trying to get through and get out of the way. The only classes I enjoyed during undergrad were my creative writing and literature classes. But with the mfa, it’s purely creative writing and literature. So it’s something I actually like to do, I guess.
I’m just a little nervous going into this mfa. It’s really reading-and-writing intensive. And there’s probably some essay-writing, research, and literary analysis/textual analysis I’ll have to do. I’ll give it my best effort, of course. I looked over some of the “required reading” lists for this Lindenwood program of mine; and all of the required texts are high-caliber books and works. It’s a very diverse list, but they’re serious and canonical writings and writing guides. One of the required books is “The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms.” And another required book is “The Classic Hundred Poems: All-Time Favorites,” edited by William Harmon.
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One thing about me is that I’m not very politically inclined or motivated in any way. I’m more of a “free spirit,” I think. And I’m actually pretty religious/devout, personally. (I grew up in a Muslim family.) And yet I’m really open-minded and tolerant. I’m sort of a “flower child” I guess, and I’m really mellow and non-judgmental. I appreciate themes like individual striving, the hero’s journey, personal sovereignty, the non-aggression principle, and etc. And I also love principles like collective concern, collective welfare, and societal wellbeing. I think I’m an Independent, in sociopolitical terms–or just unaffiliated. My main interests in life are literature; music; visual art; film and video; nature; family and friends; community service; learning about individual people, their lives, and their beliefs, often through written biographies/autobiographies/memoirs; creative writing; coming-of-age stories; individual struggle and the overcoming of adversity; personal narratives; religion; and spirituality. These are my main themes and recurring interests, I guess. God bless everyone! We’re all important and good; we all deserve every success, health, and happiness, I think. God bless, and prayers for everyone.
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