teasel

Waitlisted for poetry at UW Seattle!!!  They cut their incoming class by two thirds this year it seems... Anyway, hoping I get accepted from at least one of these waitlists. 
Condolences to those who've received rejections this week. I also received my Brown rejection, which was not surprising but still not a great way to start the day. I'm essentially just waiting on UVA (and Iowa snail mail) so I'm coasting until April at this point. In the meantime, I'm finally writing new material and sending things out to pubs again. Just trying to adapt as best I can!! Hope everyone is doing well--haven't been on here as much, but I'm wishing y'all the best. 
 

Waitlisted for poetry at UW Seattle!!!  They cut their incoming class by two thirds this year it seems... Anyway, hoping I get accepted from at least one of these waitlists. 
Condolences to those who've received rejections this week. I also received my Brown rejection, which was not surprising but still not a great way to start the day. I'm essentially just waiting on UVA (and Iowa snail mail) so I'm coasting until April at this point. In the meantime, I'm finally writing new material and sending things out to pubs again. Just trying to adapt as best I can!! Hope everyone is doing well--haven't been on here as much, but I'm wishing y'all the best. 
 

Waitlisted for poetry at UW Seattle!!!  They cut their incoming class by two thirds this year it seems... Anyway, hoping I get accepted from at least one of these waitlists. 
Condolences to those who've received rejections this week. I also received my Brown rejection, which was not surprising but still not a great way to start the day. I'm essentially just waiting on UVA (and Iowa snail mail) so I'm coasting until April at this point. In the meantime, I'm finally writing new material and sending things out to pubs again. Just trying to adapt as best I can!! Hope everyone is doing well--haven't been on here as much, but I'm wishing y'all the best. 
 

Waitlisted for poetry at UW Seattle!!!  They cut their incoming class by two thirds this year it seems... Anyway, hoping I get accepted from at least one of these waitlists. 
Condolences to those who've received rejections this week. I also received my Brown rejection, which was not surprising but still not a great way to start the day. I'm essentially just waiting on UVA (and Iowa snail mail) so I'm coasting until April at this point. In the meantime, I'm finally writing new material and sending things out to pubs again. Just trying to adapt as best I can!! Hope everyone is doing well--haven't been on here as much, but I'm wishing y'all the best. 
 

Got my Brown rejection but I also just got my first acceptance! California College of the Arts sent me my letter of acceptance last night and it feels like a huge weight off. Of course, the world is keeping my ego in check by giving me my first grad acceptance followed by a grad school rejection, and a job rejection in the course of 10 hours, but we keep pushing forward! 

I'm right there with ya. I'm not super happy with what I'm doing career wise... I want to run away elsewhere and be a writer. That is all. Even if we don't get in anywhere, I hope our situations still change for the better. Or if we end up in the same program, we can smoke together :') ❤️

Hard same. 

Saaaame haha.
Also, I am definitely freaking out. I'm realizing that while I'll be pretty devastated if I don't get into a program, that the root of the issue is that I hate my job and was really hoping to move someplace new with a clear and defined purpose. 

Saaaame haha.
Also, I am definitely freaking out. I'm realizing that while I'll be pretty devastated if I don't get into a program, that the root of the issue is that I hate my job and was really hoping to move someplace new with a clear and defined purpose. 

Yeah... you're not wrong. I went to Sarah Lawrence for part of my undergrad. Actually, I was there from 2010-2012, so maybe we know each other @dooooodle ! I definitely agree with a lot of what you mentioned... the conferences were probably the moments where I learned the most when it came to my writing. 
Anyway, if you can handle the trust fund kiddos playing thrift store dress-up and condescending to you about the bourgeoisie (that they're soooo clearly not a part of), then maybe your experience will be different. I feel like those of us on significant scholarship and financial aid found each other pretty quickly. Most of us transferred or dropped out all together. 
That being said, the faculty and classes were amazing. I was never more depressed than when I had to leave, but it was probably one of the smartest decisions I ever made, financially speaking. I guess you could say it was a very rude awakening to the realities of the world. I think that now that I'm older, I probably would have had an easier time. But such is life!  If you can financially swing it, then I say go for it. 

Saaaame haha.
Also, I am definitely freaking out. I'm realizing that while I'll be pretty devastated if I don't get into a program, that the root of the issue is that I hate my job and was really hoping to move someplace new with a clear and defined purpose. 

Saaaame haha.
Also, I am definitely freaking out. I'm realizing that while I'll be pretty devastated if I don't get into a program, that the root of the issue is that I hate my job and was really hoping to move someplace new with a clear and defined purpose. 

Saaaame haha.
Also, I am definitely freaking out. I'm realizing that while I'll be pretty devastated if I don't get into a program, that the root of the issue is that I hate my job and was really hoping to move someplace new with a clear and defined purpose. 

update from draft: there's a poetry acceptance from brown SHITSA HAPPENINGGGGGG
(also brown playwriting rejections and waitlists have gone out)

Word. Actually, I'm fried right now.
 
Surprised we aren't all freaking out over Brown right now!!

Kudos on the frying.
yeah now the Brown stress is beginning. I always looked at it as a pie in the sky possibility, but I just wanna know already!!! Think they’ll wait til Monday to begin the fiction notices?

U of Florida, Brooklyn College, Hunter College, Notre Dame, U of Maryland, Columbia, Emerson College, and Boston U. All for fiction. Looks like Florida sent out its acceptances and the two CUNY schools have their interviews going, so I'm not too confident about those.
On a more positive note, a lit magazine accepted one of my stories today.

Babes, I was just waitlisted at Michener for fiction!! ❤️❤️❤️

I see a lot of Sarah Lawrence acceptances on this thread... Congratulations to all of you! Because that's the case, I'm going to out myself and tell you I did the entirety of undergrad at SLC from 2008-2012. I love good ol' Sadie Lou (as us alums call it).
One of the reasons it's known for being a writing institution is because all students must do a ton of writing, even if the literary arts isn't a focus. There are numerous creative scholarly publications, and there's also a well-known, well-attended poetry festival every spring. I will say that undergraduate and graduate students don't interact very much. Most of the graduate classes are in Wrexham, which is a cool Tudor-style building on the edge of campus. The creative writing grads that I did meet as an undergrad were brilliant, diverse, and seemed happy; money didn't even come in conversations even though we were in school during the Great Recession. Yes, SLC is an expensive school, but they are very self-conscious about it and like to help every student the best they can. One of the reasons SLC is so costly is because it runs on the Oxford tutorial system with a low student-to-teacher ratio. This sets it apart from other liberal arts institutions. 
A little about Bronxville... it's a quiet, upper-class Westchester town with not much to do. If I were you, don't live there. Live in the city! If you want to get technical about it, SLC is in Yonkers. You can take a 50min local train ride or a 35min express train from Grand Central in Manhattan (or an even shorter one from 125th St in East Harlem) to either the Fleetwood or Bronxville stations. I can't emphasize enough how easy it is to get to and from the city, and most professors commute via the Metro-North. 
Overall, suppose you like your offer and are leaning towards Sarah Lawrence. In that case, you won't be disappointed with their prestigious faculty, proximity to New York City, appreciation for the literary arts, and reputation.
Hope this helps. 

Thank you so much. ❤️ That means a lot!! You know, I spent enough years hating myself and purposefully holding myself back from things, because I couldn't forgive myself for some choices I'd made in my past, and my way of dealing with that was using self-anger as a shield to avoid getting hurt again--you know, when you spend enough time battling yourself, and hating yourself, and being mad at yourself, and then finally getting to a place where you let yourself be wholeheartedly vulnerable again, clarity comes in the form of commitment to unabashed vulnerability and openness, no matter how hard it gets. And, as much as it'd be nice to say I did it all myself, Jesus has truly been with me every single step of the way. I couldn't, and wouldn't, be here without Him. I've learned that the darkest depths are where the light most often comes in the strongest.

I really appreciate your kind words. I hope you friggin have it this year--you're going to kick ass.  
Thanks, lovey!!! ❤️ I am a warrior, and so are you. So are all of us. P.S. I kind of want to add "badass warrior" to my LinkedIn profile...too much? ?

I'm probably just in a bad mood because I had to deal w/ two meltdowns at work rn so I might delete later, but....

It's so nice that they can be 'very self-conscious' about how privileged they are. 
And money doesn't come up w/ rich people, because THAT IS SOMETHING THEY DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT.

Doodle, I'm sure you are a very nice person, and I wouldn't dare to guess your own personal circumstances, but the one place are describing sounds exactly like the self-perpetuating bullshit of people patting themselves on the back, telling themselves they are the 'good ones' all while, consciously or not, working to maintain the same harmful status quo.

My rant and small lunch are now over. Sorry bout the mood. Keep up the great work evryone.

Yesterday around 9pm I had got a call from a "no caller id" number. I let it go to VM, but of course no message was left, and now I can't stop thinking about it AND DEAR GOD I don't want to be like this for the rest of my life!!!!  
As far as portfolios go, I guess my advice (for what it's worth) would be to REVISE REVISE REVISE--give the portfolio to a teacher or mentor you trust, ideally someone who reads contemporary publications and maybe even has an MFA themselves.  Someone who understands what you're trying to accomplish in your writing (not someone who just wants you to write like them).  I think it's really tempting to try and get feedback from friends and family, but unless they read literary magazines it might not be super helpful and just make you second guess your own instinct.
I know the goal is to be "teachable," but you still want the writing to be GOOD. I mean, it seems kind of like a contradiction but there is a level of polish that should be noticeable. In other words, there should be intention in your writing--you thought about this line break, this particular word choice, this particular tense, etc. etc. I think one thing that really helped me this past year was reading widely and habitually. And not just the classics, but things that are CURRENT. 
Anyway, congrats to all those who heard back from places today! Wishing everyone the best ❤️ 

Yesterday around 9pm I had got a call from a "no caller id" number. I let it go to VM, but of course no message was left, and now I can't stop thinking about it AND DEAR GOD I don't want to be like this for the rest of my life!!!!  
As far as portfolios go, I guess my advice (for what it's worth) would be to REVISE REVISE REVISE--give the portfolio to a teacher or mentor you trust, ideally someone who reads contemporary publications and maybe even has an MFA themselves.  Someone who understands what you're trying to accomplish in your writing (not someone who just wants you to write like them).  I think it's really tempting to try and get feedback from friends and family, but unless they read literary magazines it might not be super helpful and just make you second guess your own instinct.
I know the goal is to be "teachable," but you still want the writing to be GOOD. I mean, it seems kind of like a contradiction but there is a level of polish that should be noticeable. In other words, there should be intention in your writing--you thought about this line break, this particular word choice, this particular tense, etc. etc. I think one thing that really helped me this past year was reading widely and habitually. And not just the classics, but things that are CURRENT. 
Anyway, congrats to all those who heard back from places today! Wishing everyone the best ❤️ 

Yesterday around 9pm I had got a call from a "no caller id" number. I let it go to VM, but of course no message was left, and now I can't stop thinking about it AND DEAR GOD I don't want to be like this for the rest of my life!!!!  
As far as portfolios go, I guess my advice (for what it's worth) would be to REVISE REVISE REVISE--give the portfolio to a teacher or mentor you trust, ideally someone who reads contemporary publications and maybe even has an MFA themselves.  Someone who understands what you're trying to accomplish in your writing (not someone who just wants you to write like them).  I think it's really tempting to try and get feedback from friends and family, but unless they read literary magazines it might not be super helpful and just make you second guess your own instinct.
I know the goal is to be "teachable," but you still want the writing to be GOOD. I mean, it seems kind of like a contradiction but there is a level of polish that should be noticeable. In other words, there should be intention in your writing--you thought about this line break, this particular word choice, this particular tense, etc. etc. I think one thing that really helped me this past year was reading widely and habitually. And not just the classics, but things that are CURRENT. 
Anyway, congrats to all those who heard back from places today! Wishing everyone the best ❤️ 

Yesterday around 9pm I had got a call from a "no caller id" number. I let it go to VM, but of course no message was left, and now I can't stop thinking about it AND DEAR GOD I don't want to be like this for the rest of my life!!!!  
As far as portfolios go, I guess my advice (for what it's worth) would be to REVISE REVISE REVISE--give the portfolio to a teacher or mentor you trust, ideally someone who reads contemporary publications and maybe even has an MFA themselves.  Someone who understands what you're trying to accomplish in your writing (not someone who just wants you to write like them).  I think it's really tempting to try and get feedback from friends and family, but unless they read literary magazines it might not be super helpful and just make you second guess your own instinct.
I know the goal is to be "teachable," but you still want the writing to be GOOD. I mean, it seems kind of like a contradiction but there is a level of polish that should be noticeable. In other words, there should be intention in your writing--you thought about this line break, this particular word choice, this particular tense, etc. etc. I think one thing that really helped me this past year was reading widely and habitually. And not just the classics, but things that are CURRENT. 
Anyway, congrats to all those who heard back from places today! Wishing everyone the best ❤️