I forgot to write a blog post on Sunday. (Whoops.) My roommate chastised me (jokingly), telling me āYou had one job.ā
Anyway, this past week has been pretty busy. But the thing is, itās the fun kind of busy. At school, when youāre busy, you dread having to work on your assignments. Here, each of the teachers assign homework every day, but I actually look forward to completing my assignments. Theyāre not always great and I donāt really have time to edit them, but itās just really fun to write.
I should probably explain how the creative writing courses are arranged this year (and possibly past years).
So, the entire creative writing department is separated into four groups: Group A, Group B, Group C, and Group D. (Iām in Group D.)
There are four ācoreā classes available: fiction, poetry, journalism, and playwriting/screenplay writing. The core classes rotate every week so that the students of each group will take all of the classes at least once in this month. In other words, itās a class that rotates every week.
For example, on the first week, my groupās core class was playwriting/screenplay writing, taught by Phinny. This week, my groupās core class is poetry with Hilary. Next week, it will probably be fiction with Chris. On the last week, weāll probably have journalism with Karla.
In addition to the core classes, we also have a āfocusā class. The focus class does not rotate. Instead, we stay with our focus class for the entire four weeks. The classes offered this year are the same as the core classes: fiction, poetry, journalism, and playwriting/screenplay writing. (Iām in fiction!)
On the first day of CSSSA, when you first arrive, you complete your registration, get your I.D. card, sign up for the field trips you want to go to, and all that. You get situated in your dorm room, meet your roommates, and go to the welcoming ceremony in the main hall. Thatās pretty much all you do on the first day.
On the second day of CSSSA, you wake up and go to your departmentās orientation. For the creative writing class, all 77(?) of us went to a wide room for the orientation. The four teachers introduced themselves, and then they asked us to go around the room and introduce ourselves.
(Note: For anyone who is transgender and/or uncomfortable with their birth name, this is the time you can use your preferred name. Of course, if you accidentally introduce yourself using the name youāre uncomfortable with, you can fix it later on.)
When the orientation was over, we separated into predetermined groups (the A, B, C, and D groups) and went to our first core class session. There, we submitted our requests for the focus class
If I remember correctly, we had free time for the rest of the day.
After that, the schedule became regular. Every weekday besides Wednesday, we have core class from 9 am to 12 pm. Then, we have lunch break followed by focus class from 1 pm to 4 pm. From 4 pm to 5 pm, we have a āwriting hour,ā which we use to work on our homework assignments. Honestly, Iām not sure Iām very productive at that time. I do work on things, but I donāt know if Iām accomplishing up to my full potential.
Anyway, after writing hour, we have dinner. Oftentimes after dinner, there are events you can go to, such as guest artist meetings or film screenings. Some events are mandatory for certain divisions (for example, a guest filmmaker meeting would be mandatory for film students to attend), but for creative writers, most events are optional.
On Wednesdays, we have writersā workshop which varies from week to week. So far, weāve only had one workshop, so I canāt say much about it yet, but it was fun! I hope all of the future writersā workshops are as fun if not more fun than the first.
There is a lot of work, but as I said before, itās fun work.
And thatās the education stuff covered. Letās talk about more personal stuff!
On Sunday, a whole bunch of us went on our first field trip to a theatre to watch Grey Gardens. I wonāt give too much of the story away (even if it is nonfiction), but I will say that I spend most of the time fangirling over the intricate set, and I cried bitter tears at the end of the musical.
Iāve been going to bed at 2 am every weekday and even later on weekends, but thatās considered kinda early for me. (I tend to sleep at 5 am on summer days...which isnāt good.) Iām glad! My roommates have to wake me up in the morning, but I donāt think they mind, and I certainly do appreciate it. ^^
Friend-wise, I have 3 āmainā friends. 2 of them are my roommates, and the other one is a guy we got to know through a misunderstanding. Theyāre all really great people, and Iām really fortunate to have gotten to know them.
Everyone is such amazing writers here! I still feel like Iām not quite good enough, but Chris and the other teachers/CSSSA staff have nailed into us that everyone at CSSSA deserves to attend this program, that we were selected among thousands to join this community and to grow in our art forms.
Iām super fortunate to be here. Iām extremely thankful to be here. Iām excited to be here.
This program isnāt even halfway done, but Iām already planning on applying again next year. Maybe Iāll join the theatre department next year? Or maybe Iāll do creative writing again?
Thanks for reading if you got this far, and if anyone reading this is considering applying to CSSSA, do it. I canāt tell you how much Iām enjoying myself here. Despite being a writer, I canāt find the words to adequately express my utter joy of having this opportunity.
Seriously, you donāt have much to lose. You just need to sacrifice a bit of time and to put effort into your application, but once youāre here, youāll know itās worth it and more.
Well, itās 1 am right now, so Iām going to sign off. Good night! Good morning! Good afternoon!
