Adventures in the MFA-Lite: Great Novels You Always Meant to Read
Through high school, college and my shamanic studies, I was a mediocre student. It's not that I didn't have the interest or the capacity to learn but it seemed like what was lacking was the military expression of high expectations: from my teachers, from my fellow students, and, from the worst offender, myself. Maybe the environment, for a combination of reasons, wasn't conducive for high expectations; maybe I just lacked drive for years as my missing soul parts were treading water, looking for a home. My experience at Berkeley has helped change the narrative. More specifically, literature, which I am studying, has helped change my self-talk, my self-narrative; has given it a makeover, with a syntax fresh and a pool of vocabulary that is gleaming and cool. And a voice that is less afraid. For years, I had always wanted to apply to an MFA in Creative Writing. Google Excel Spreadsheets attest to that fact; I had color-coordinated boxes denoting schools with their