Hey there world. I'm Wahida.
I'm just about 26, and I'll be starting an MFA in fiction at the University of Minnesota this September. Orientation starts at the end of August! I feel so lucky and grateful to be able to spend the next three years focusing on my writing. I'm still having trouble believing it's all real.
I arrived in the Twin Cities earlier this week, and yesterday I locked down a nice little apartment in Minneapolis. I'm moving from Tucson---I graduated from the University of Arizona this past December, with a BA in Creative Writing & Anthropology. I minored in Arabic.
I did my undergraduate thesis in creative nonfiction, but I'm doing my MFA in fiction. I love poetry too, and understand almost nothing about it. Someday I'd like to a) teach writing OR b) work for a writing/literature nonprofit AND c) write.
I spent my kiddie days (and my freshman year of college) in the Boston area, and grew up in northern Arizona. I never got along with the desert and I'm happy I've been transplanted somewhere wet and weathersome.
I have two blogs: Found in Fiction (about life, MFA stuff & reading/writing) and Multi What? (about life & being Somali-Armenian American.) I started blogging to try to distract myself during the nerve-wracking MFA decision season---let's see if I can keep up once school starts. Oh, and I'm currently battling a new twitter addiction.
I'll be teaching a workshop section of an Intro to Creative Writing class this fall semester. I have no teaching experience, so I'm a little bit nervous. But mostly I'm just really excited.I'm interested in: my ridiculously random family, social justice/equality/less crappiness the world over, multiracial/multiethnic/multicultural/mixed issues, world literature, minority and underprivileged voices in fiction, nectarines, stuffed grape leaves, primates and humanism.
I'm totally unpublished, and somewhat (well, completely) terrified by writing. I hope to do something about at least one of those things during my MFA.
It's nice to "meet" you -- I'm excited to hear what you all have to say. I'm sure you'll enjoy Minneapolis. The literary hub aspect is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteAre you, perchance, participating in the mentorship program through the Loft Literary Center this fall?
Hello again Weronika. I'm glad you came by the blog! I'm loving Minneapolis so far and can't wait to explore all it has to offer.
ReplyDeleteI'm very interested in the Loft's mentorship program. We'll see what happens.
Such a cute picture Wahida! :)
ReplyDeleteaww thanks Denis : ) yours is nice too!
ReplyDeleteDenis is right - cute picture :) And yay for you blogging here!
ReplyDeleteHi Wahida, I'm so glad you posted the link to this on facebook! I think it's going to be a great thing to participate in :)
ReplyDeleteDouble aww, Lindsay! Here's to hoping you'll be joining one of these next year : )
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you joined, Emily! I'm really excited about this blog, too. I know we're all going to have a great time together.
Wahida, I'm so excited to hear about how your teaching experience is this fall! I really resonate with a lot of the poetry that comes out of U Minn. I'm anxious to see how you like it there!
ReplyDeleteP.S. What kind of CNF do you write? I applied in CNF and poetry the first time around, but decided I'm mostly a poet.
Ha, I can't wait to see how it turns out, either! I'm excited. It seems like we're going to have a lot of support, so that makes it a little bit less scary.
ReplyDeleteSo far my CNF has been personal essay with narrative/memoir-ish leanings. I think. What about you?
I made the leap into fiction around my junior year, but by then I was already locked into a CNF thesis. I'm mostly a fiction person, but I learned a lot from writing CNF, and definitely want to return to it in the future. I enjoy writing poetry sometimes but I feel pretty lost in that area and I'm hoping to learn more about it during my MFA. I'm so scattered!
I really love Indiana's multi-culti angle, and I can't wait to hear about your MFA life there.
"Someday I'd like to a) teach writing OR b) work for a writing/literature nonprofit AND c) write."
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty much where I'm at too. So jealous that you get to teach right away. I have some pre-recs to fulfill before I'm eligible. Registration is tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure I'll be taking 'theory of teaching creative writing' so we'll have to swap notes on techniques.
I second Denis, Wahida. Your pic is super cute! Look at us, now we're MFA blogging colleagues! This feels fun and professional, all at the same time!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you'll be teaching soon enough! It's a little scary they're going to throw us right in after a one week orientation---we'll have ongoing teaching practicums during the semester, but still. I'm sure the theory class will end up being super beneficial.
ReplyDeleteYours too, Tory! Yay----colleagues. I love it. This is so super fun. And yes we're definitely "networking"---hey, I said it without getting queasy!
Yup your teaching is very nice!!!
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