So Apparently I Suck At Keeping Up With a Blog. My Apologies. I'll Try to Do Better.

Okay, so I'm really going to try to keep up with this whole 'blog-thing' this time.

You can thank my little sister who is studying abroad in Florence and my friend Sara who has been having crazy South American(right?) adventures this past year for inspiring me to re-start my blog.

I decided to start writing again because it's summer and I don't have classes or any other writing I have to get done by a particular due date.

And I think it's good to keep writing. One of the things I've struggled with in the past, is not writing when I don't have an assignment due for class. And since school doesn't last forever, unless you want to be completely buried in student-loans until you die (that's one of the only ways they will forgive your student-loans--if you die, I read that in the loan agreement), I have decided now is the perfect time to practice writing without assignments.

I guess first I'll recap the end of the semester and give an overview of my plans for the summer.

My second semester of grad school turned out to be way more fruitful or successful than the first. I met two amazing professors and I really saw an improvement in my writing. I had to write a letter to my workshop professor (workshop=writing class for those of you not familiar with writerly terms) and in that letter I had to talk about my progress throughout the semester. Then my professor wrote me back a letter and sent my portfolio along with comments to improve the drafts I sent him. What he wrote back to me was really encouraging. I like to think that I am a writer who is open to criticism and takes that criticism pretty well, but every now and again I think everyone needs a little self-esteem boost. I included twice the amount of required poems (12 instead of six) and my professor told me that I had been holding back and that some of the poems are "tough, funny, and confident." That I seemed to find a "spunky tone" towards the end of the semester and I shouldn't let that go. That was nice to hear after a semester of hard work.

In the beginning of the year I felt like I was playing catch-up compared to some of my classmates because I didn't feel as if I was as well-read as they were. But I think that means that maybe I needed an MFA program more than they did. I don't need someone to reiterate what I already know, I'm looking to learn and develop.

I got two A's for the semester and I think I may have found the two professors that I want to work with on my thesis. My professor for my lit class was as equally encouraging and critical as my workshop professor. In fact, he and I have already been corresponding this summer. He told us we could send him poems over the summer or next semester and I was surprised by how quickly he responded. Within two days he had read the two poems I sent him and had written lengthy comments/suggestions for improvement.

So overall my first year at grad school can be considered a win or a success. I'm excited for the next year to begin especially because I'll be moving in with my grad-school-bestie Eloisa and our new friend Abby who seems like a pretty cool person.

Which leads me to summer plans and plans for next year.

This summer turned out a little differently than I had originally planned. The original plan was to take a summer course, go to Spain for a few weeks for the family vacay and Colorado for the wedding that I am a bridesmaid in. But after talking with my mom I decided to come home to Arizona for the summer to work a little for my parents and to spend some time in the sunshine before I'm cut off from it again all winter (that is another blog all of its own). So, I'm currently sitting on the couch in sunny AZ while I write this blog, after sitting by the pool working on my much needed tan (thank you mom and Brie for telling me, repeatedly, how pale I was when I got back from Boston).

I'm still going to Spain with the family and to CO for the wedding, but now I also get to go to Indiana for my great-grandma's 90th birthday party and I get to spend a little more time with my family and friends on the west coast.

Then at the beginning of August I will be heading back to the east coast to move out of my current apartment and into my new apartment before school starts up again.

So,  as I stated in the beginning of this post, I am going to try my hardest to write at least once a week for the rest of the summer. And if I'm really feeling motivated, hopefully I can keep up with that promise for the rest of the year.

And now I am going to try to get equally as tan as my little sister.

                                                                                ~~~