There’s still so much I have to complete for my last semester, but I cannot believe I’m nearly halfway through it. Some of what I still have to do is in preparation for the last residency. Some of it is completing my sixth packet (which I’m really excited to get to). But most of it is still revision of my poetry for my creative thesis project. I’m really loving how these poems are turning out. I’ve been practicing reading some of them aloud (since part of the last residency is presenting our thesis through a reading) and it’s never not amazing to give myself chills as I’m reading my own work.

I keep thinking back to all the milestones I’ve hit in my college education. I keep comparing who I am now to who I was then and the differences are astounding. As little as even a year ago, I would never have imagined myself as a poet. Now, I can’t imagine how I lived so long without accepting that I’m meant to write poetry. I graduated with my B.A. in 2018 and back then, I knew I had accomplished a lot, but I didn’t know I was capable of accomplishing so much more in such a small amount of time. I didn’t know I was going to leave my ex and start healing from the trauma of my marriage. I didn’t know that I would come to use writing and reading as a means to heal. I didn’t know that I would ever start putting myself first in my life because it was something I had never, ever, done before. I didn’t know that I could grow so much as a writer and as a person. I didn’t know that I would fall in love with an amazing human being and learn to trust him.

My twenties were a terrible time of my life. And so far my thirties have been everything I’ve wanted them to be. There have been heartaches and disappointments and betrayals, as with every time of life. But overall, my thirties have been infinitely more enjoyable than my twenties. Getting this M.F.A. is only one of many bright spots.

That’s my quick update. Sending love to you!