XXY

The waitingggggggggg

Y'all are so productive 👏 You're inspiring me to do more meaningful things, not just while away my free hours.

How’s everyone doing with the wait?

I wish I could read the samples of everyone here. Not to ~size up the competish~. Just to read the lovely stuff everyone has written and recognize, during this period of uncertainty, the accomplishment and the effort that went into making those samples.

Were you mostly checking out the ones at Brown, or at MFAs more generally?

tf?

Fingers crossed for you! Eesh, I'm getting all antsy and nervous for everyone here even though I probably won't be hearing from the schools I applied to for at least another few weeks. SENDING YOU ALL GOOD VIBES

God, I feel this. My story was also very personal, and it probably will be read as shitty autofiction lol. It's also difficult for me to admit to myself, and people in my life who know I applied, how much getting into an MFA matters to me. In general I've been trying to live my life with less dependence on external validation, but I think I'll feel pretty delusional for pursuing this writing dream if all six programs I applied to say nah. At the end of the day, though, I feel happier writing than doing just about anything else, and I know that should count for something...!

At this point I can't look at/think about my writing sample without feeling just...disgust. Is this normal?!

YA

I'm honestly doing the worst job ever distracting myself lol. I was just thinking about how this is kinda the worst time of year to be waiting out results. Post-holiday January/February doldrums... It's even worse because my work is highly seasonal, and most of it died down when the app season did. But I've thrown myself into cleaning and decorating my place, given that I was a total gremlin during apps and neglected so much "life maintenance" stuff for a while. I also plan to read more and force myself to try to start writing something else, anything. And maybe find some story-based video game to sink into at night.

If I were you, I'd message one of the group's mods about it. Good luck!

Just got my self-addressed postcard from UCI in the mail. It all feels so real now...!

Admirable. After finishing the story I submitted for applications, I’ve felt pretty depleted creativity-wise. Hoping I land on a story idea that excites me soon so I can really distract myself from app outcomes!

It’s a fantastic idea!

I'm also thinking Italy for a rejection trip. I applied to only a handful of programs and know there's a very good chance I'll get into none of them, but I'm sure it'll be a whole different ballgame if/when the reality hits. Just trying to keep my mind off it until decisions start coming out!