Back to school
After 3 years of taking certified courses in creative writing at Stanford, I have finally decided to take a step further in writing. The last 3 years helped me learn the basic nuances of writing which were related to mostly non fiction. These learnings helped me pen down a book- a memoir titled A Turbulent Mind which is slated to release in August.
I am keen to write fiction in the coming years. Being a diverse genre, there is a lot to explore as a writer. When I had expressed this to my professor at Stanford, he encouraged me to enroll into a MFA Program. I immediately looked up MFA programs in the Bay Area and listed my options. I found the program at University of San Francisco pretty exciting and a place which would enable me to grow as a writer. Working with professors on a one to one basis on my thesis would be a wonderful experience. Fortunately for me, the admissions for Fall 2020 were still open. After a talk with the administrative director of USF, I worked vigorously on my application end of June. I was delighted to hear that they had admitted me into the program.
I have always wanted to come and study abroad in my 20s. Unfortunately I lacked clarity as to what I wanted to do. I was pressurized into doing management as that was considered an 'acceptable' course by society. That was sometime in the early 2000s. I lacked the aptitude for management and felt ostracized by society for this inadequacy. As a naive 20 year old, I realized it was a world of either engineering, medicine or management. Arts was considered for those 'not so intelligent' ones. Its 2020 now. While I see a lot of more people expressing their passion to read and write, I see a drastic change over the years. Yet when I come across certain folks who still look down upon arts, I wonder if mindsets will ever change. Probably not.
What has certainly changed is my outlook, my clarity in thought process and my purpose in life. As a little girl, I had a penchant for the word of words. I was submerged in books and my essays were read out in class. When I entered high school, my reading habit had disappeared which clearly reflected in my writings. I was struggling to cope up with science and math. Though I was strong in arithmetic and statistics, algebra and geometry had me in despair often resulting in tears. It was the same with Science.
I wondered what would have happened if I had changed schools? What if I hadn't been pressurized to do well in science and maths? What if I had been allowed to pursue my love for reading and writing? Maybe things would have been different. However its never too late. They say 40 is the new 20. Well I guess I am just living up to this saying.
It’s certainly exciting to go back to school and pursue something that I have wanted to for a long time. I strongly believe that the learning never stops with regards to anything! Especially when your mind remains as curious as it was when you were a child. If all goes well, I'll graduate in 2 years with my 3rd Masters degree.
I have always wanted to come and study abroad in my 20s. Unfortunately I lacked clarity as to what I wanted to do. I was pressurized into doing management as that was considered an 'acceptable' course by society. That was sometime in the early 2000s. I lacked the aptitude for management and felt ostracized by society for this inadequacy. As a naive 20 year old, I realized it was a world of either engineering, medicine or management. Arts was considered for those 'not so intelligent' ones. Its 2020 now. While I see a lot of more people expressing their passion to read and write, I see a drastic change over the years. Yet when I come across certain folks who still look down upon arts, I wonder if mindsets will ever change. Probably not.
What has certainly changed is my outlook, my clarity in thought process and my purpose in life. As a little girl, I had a penchant for the word of words. I was submerged in books and my essays were read out in class. When I entered high school, my reading habit had disappeared which clearly reflected in my writings. I was struggling to cope up with science and math. Though I was strong in arithmetic and statistics, algebra and geometry had me in despair often resulting in tears. It was the same with Science.
I wondered what would have happened if I had changed schools? What if I hadn't been pressurized to do well in science and maths? What if I had been allowed to pursue my love for reading and writing? Maybe things would have been different. However its never too late. They say 40 is the new 20. Well I guess I am just living up to this saying.
It’s certainly exciting to go back to school and pursue something that I have wanted to for a long time. I strongly believe that the learning never stops with regards to anything! Especially when your mind remains as curious as it was when you were a child. If all goes well, I'll graduate in 2 years with my 3rd Masters degree.
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