Hmm...
I started looking at Grad Schools again. This time, in writing. Creative Nonfiction, poetry, dramatic writing.
I know by now that I was meant to do something creative, and I was meant to tell stories. I am sure, certain, completely and utterly convinced that this is what I'm supposed to be doing. I realized recently that Creative Nonfiction is the writing form of documentary film--taking pieces of life and putting them together to make the story. I love it.
I had an hour off today, after class, and before Senior Grad. So I sat down in Jazzman's and read my Creative Non workshop's pieces, and all the essays for next week. It's a joy to do that. I read them once, and tomorrow, I plan on reading them again, and writing my comments. This is something I think I could do even better than documentary. This is something I find harder to get sick of. This is something that comes together and teaches me something new.
Once I described my SIP as sitting in a room with a person who has Alzheimer's. They sit and tell the same story over and over again, and you hear it with unflinching patience. Little changes. Occasionally, you draw up different images for the story, and overlay them in a different order. But it's still the same thing. Even the words are the same.
In Creative Nonfiction, I could spend hours changing things. The smallest detail changes the meaning. If I misplace a freckle, she looks different. If he drives the truck with both hands, instead of one, the story becomes different. It means something new. But at the same time, I'm using the same images, memories, from my head to craft this together. I discover new truths with each change, each reading. I love it. It's unbelievable.
I don't know if I want to go to school for it, though. I don't know if I'm just insecure about my very tentative plans for life. I don't know if I'm just regretting the fact that I wasn't an English major, or what. But gosh, it would be incredible to do this for the rest of my life. I keep thinking I'd love to teach this creative stuff, but is that too narrow of a goal? I don't want to teach English, literature, nothing like that. I want to teach creative writing. I want to teach documentary film. Does this mean I have to go all the way through to getting a PhD is something? Can you do that in such a narrow field?
Well, I started looking at schools. We'll see what I do with that. It seems I just have too many options. Lucky me.
I know by now that I was meant to do something creative, and I was meant to tell stories. I am sure, certain, completely and utterly convinced that this is what I'm supposed to be doing. I realized recently that Creative Nonfiction is the writing form of documentary film--taking pieces of life and putting them together to make the story. I love it.
I had an hour off today, after class, and before Senior Grad. So I sat down in Jazzman's and read my Creative Non workshop's pieces, and all the essays for next week. It's a joy to do that. I read them once, and tomorrow, I plan on reading them again, and writing my comments. This is something I think I could do even better than documentary. This is something I find harder to get sick of. This is something that comes together and teaches me something new.
Once I described my SIP as sitting in a room with a person who has Alzheimer's. They sit and tell the same story over and over again, and you hear it with unflinching patience. Little changes. Occasionally, you draw up different images for the story, and overlay them in a different order. But it's still the same thing. Even the words are the same.
In Creative Nonfiction, I could spend hours changing things. The smallest detail changes the meaning. If I misplace a freckle, she looks different. If he drives the truck with both hands, instead of one, the story becomes different. It means something new. But at the same time, I'm using the same images, memories, from my head to craft this together. I discover new truths with each change, each reading. I love it. It's unbelievable.
I don't know if I want to go to school for it, though. I don't know if I'm just insecure about my very tentative plans for life. I don't know if I'm just regretting the fact that I wasn't an English major, or what. But gosh, it would be incredible to do this for the rest of my life. I keep thinking I'd love to teach this creative stuff, but is that too narrow of a goal? I don't want to teach English, literature, nothing like that. I want to teach creative writing. I want to teach documentary film. Does this mean I have to go all the way through to getting a PhD is something? Can you do that in such a narrow field?
Well, I started looking at schools. We'll see what I do with that. It seems I just have too many options. Lucky me.