MFA Personal Essay

Well, a lot's happened since the AROHO retreat. I've decided to go back to school and get an MFA in fiction writing. Yep. I know. A huge decision. But, even in the midst of my lingering self-doubt, I have a core of calm certainty. It's time.

So, I've been researching Universities, got a copy of Tom Kealey's excellent book, The Creative Writing MFA Handbook, added Abrahamson Leslie's blog to my RSS feeds. I'm writing personal essays, studying for the GRE, gathering transcripts and trying to figure out who to approach for letters of recommendation.

I have to admit, that last one is the biggest puzzle. Who can write my letters of recommendation? I've been out of college for twenty years. Plus, I hate to ask anyone for anything...ever.

It's already quite an adventure.

This morning I woke up writing personal statement essays in my head. I actually woke up and wrote out a draft. I'm going to let it cook for a day or two and come back to it. It's another of those things where I want to hit the mark, yet stand out, yet not be like the other 450 essays on their desk. I've been sort of preoccupied with coming up with an approach, and then it came to me. Just be myself. Tell my story of why I'm doing this now. It's all about telling a story. One more time.