Hello! My name is Katie Bell and I will be attending the University of New Hampshire's fiction MFA in the fall. I will receive my BA from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville over the summer, and I am very excited to start the MFA program.
A little bit about me: I am 21 years old, married (to a great guy whose support I cherish), finishing up my bachelor's degree and working pretty much full time at an Auntie Anne's Pretzels in a local mall. When I have free time, I work on my writing, and I have about seven different story ideas bouncing around in my head right now.
I will be in the same boat in New Hampshire, because I am willingly attending a program without funding. Why? Am I crazy? (Maybe, but that's beside the point). After antagonizing over a decision, I chose to attend the University of New Hampshire without funding because I think that the program is worth it. I have received countless emails from professors and current students extolling the virtues of the program and I feel like the University of New Hampshire will be able to give me the advice I need to improve my writing without feeling as though I'm only attending a school for the money. I am looking forward to attending classes with students who are attending UNH because they are passionate about their writing as much as I am about mine. I want to be surrounded by a group of hardworking writers, which professors and current students have assured me is what I will find at the University of New Hampshire.
Sure, I will have to work two jobs and take three classes in the fall to make ends meet financially, but I would rather work hard now to make my future the best it can be.
And I leave you with something unique about me: There's this pair of pants that I've had since I was seventeen years old. They're frayed, full of holes, and stained to the point where I no longer think of them as an acceptable pair of pants. But I still wear them because I like to think of them as a symbol of me: over-worn and torn apart, but still functional. So I am a pair of pants, still hugging the ass of life.
Ha! I love that..."still hugging the ass of life". Even with funding, life in general can add extra challenges to the MFA/writer's life. I like your attitude about it and can relate. Welcome to the blog!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the blog.
ReplyDeleteI also like your attitude.
And if you can afford your classes by working, all the power to you.
i worked full time in a non-funded program and i'm enjoying the tax write off at least :)
ReplyDeleteKatie, love the pants analogy! Welcome, welcome.
ReplyDeleteWelcome, Katie, and best of luck in NH. You said you're in Tennessee now - has there been flooding where you live? I've seen the pictures from Nashville, and they just look terrible.
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for your comments guys! I am glad to be a part of the blog!
ReplyDeleteEmily- Three fourths of Tennessee is underwater right now, which is really dangerous and unfortunate. I live in Knoxville, which is the one-fourth of the state that did not get flooded. What happened was (as my coworker explained) that the storm came off of the low-lying parts of Tennessee and hit the mountains. The mountains acted like a skateboard ramp, and pushed the storm north. We got a little bit of rain for one day, but it's bright and sunny out here now.
Fortunately, there are a lot of people from East Tennessee who are heading west to help Nashville, Memphis and the rest of Tennessee get un-flooded.