Writing and/or Working

I started this blog with the intent of sharing my writing and photos and other artsy stuff. However, that hasn't exactly happened yet. I'll admit, I've been both lazy and skeptical of blogging. But I love to write, so why not?

Since late elementary school/early middle school, writing became an outlet for my emotions. I would write whenever I was happy, sad, angry, nervous, etc. Any and every emotion, or spark of inspiration, I would turn to pen and paper. When I couldn't sleep at night, I'd write. Write whatever was on my mind, lists, dreams, nightmares.

I don't write as much as I used to. I should.

I'm trying.

One of my personal goals is to get back into writing on the regular.

English was always my best (and favorite) subject; I think because of my love of reading which turned into a love of writing. However, I didn't begin to appreciate writing until my freshman year of high school when I took my first creative writing class. My teacher forced us to do a variety of writing exercises and challenged us to write about subjects outside of our comfort zones. He annoyed me, Mr. C, I was so angered that I couldn't just write what I wanted. I challenged him, asking why, but he only challenged me back. This sparked my competitive nature, and I wrote what his assignments required and more. By the time I was ready to graduate, I knew I was going to study English further.

I went to Hunter College in NYC for English Language Arts, which most people associate with becoming an English Teacher, but I chose ELA because of the nice balance between both writing and literature classes (Also there were some English Language history courses thrown in, which were interesting). ELA was unlike English Lit, which was strictly reading/analyzing or Creative Writing, which was strictly writing workshop-type courses (and what are you going to do with a creative writing degree anyway? Just because you took the classes, it doesn't make you the next J.K Rowling) (and if you think about it, a lot of established writers and/or famous authors don't have writing degrees, just imagination and talent). Anyway, so here I am with my B.A. in ELA, and like most other college grads, I am jobless.

I would like to go into either editing or publishing, I'm not entirely sure. I do know that I like editing, I love to read other peoples work and find mistakes or simply make it a better read. (I've also been called a grammar Nazi by my best friend). In high school I was on the school newspaper, as both a reporter and eventually an editor. Senior year I became a co-editor for the overall paper. Unfortunately I didn't continue that route in college. I didn't join Hunter's newspaper or literary magazine or anything of that nature. I wanted to, I really did, but commuting from Long Island into the city made it difficult to commit to much, plus I worked and went to school full time, and was also on the fencing team at Hunter. I say editing or publishing because if I go the editing route, I can do that at a publishing company or a newspaper or magazine, or ultimately anything that requires an editor. If I go the publishing route, there are many different operations and functions within a publishing house, and who knows, maybe I'll discover something else about the industry I like.

Another thing that sucks is the lack of internship experience I have. I wasn't really able to do them because most are very demanding in hours of commitment and between work, school, commuting, etc. my schedule was crammed. I was lucky and able to do one in my last year of school at a literary magazine called Epiphany. My editors at Epiphany were great in their understanding of a busy schedule and I was able to do a lot of work from home (as well as participate in weekly meetings at headquarters). Since Epiphany is a small press, I often felt like my work was appreciated and I always felt like my opinion or judgement was valued (most particularly when reading through submissions to the magazine). Epiphany publishes both established and forthcoming writers of fiction, nonfiction, memoir, and poetry. The stories in each issue are so dynamic that there are many different themes, issues and emotions that arise from each one. One of my favorite things about the magazine is the cover art. The editors are diligent in choosing something unique, strange, artistic, or eye-catching, that no two covers are the same. Be sure to check out their website http://www.epiphanyzine.com/ and follow them on Twitter @EpiphanyMag

In the meantime, I search the newspapers and Internet constantly for possible jobs and continue to submit my resume to anywhere and everywhere appealing. It's tough being a college grad because when you're younger you're told to go to college and you'll get a good job (or a career), but then after you graduate you run into excuses that just your degree isn't enough. You need experience. But how can one get experience without being given a chance? Or you need connections. It's not always what you know, but who you know. Then again, no one said life was easy.

And the hunt continues...