#csssa app

2018 ACCEPTED CSSSA application:

VISUAL ART

c. a piece that demonstrates artistic skill -

“one last breath”; graphite on paper

b. a piece that describes yourself -

“I need my space”; oil on board

a. a piece about an important issue -

“unplug”; sculpture, photography, and digital painting

hello there! i was at csssa for creative writing and i thought i’d make a list of things that i wish i had known before coming to csssa for everyone applying/attending next year! 

1) there’s a gender neutral hall (at least there is one right now) i know a lot of non-cis people who attended and had no idea that it existed until i got here. i don’t know how to get into said hall, but its there!

2) you have a joint bathroom with the dorm next to yours. you become very comfortable with the people in the neighboring suite. it’s a pretty good idea to make some sort of shower schedule/structure to avoid really awkward encounters

3) its pretty fuckin hot (shocker, i know), but its really fuckin cold inside the classrooms and some of the dorms, especially at night. its a good idea to bring a jacket or sweatpants. layers are your friend.

4) you don’t need a shower curtain. the door on the shower is frosted over and nobody can see inside of it so you don’t really need it unless you’re super uncomfortable without one

5) you don’t need an ethernet cable the wifi’s totally fine (even in the dorms. yes, there is wifi in the dorms)

6) you definitely need a trash can, and probably a big one. the packing list says to bring a small trash can, but my dorm definitely needed a bigger one.

7) kinds of shoes you should definitely bring: flip flops or sandals for showering/pool/generic hot weather, sneakers or every day shoes, and maybe some running shoes if you’re planning on being on the active side while you’re here

8) to avoid having to cross the massive hill from the main entrance of the main building and Chouinard Hall, there’s a little shortcut. if you come directly from Chouinard and just keep walking straight, you’ll see a pair of double doors on the side of the main building. you might want to figure out how to navigate the halls before you use this shortcut, but it’s air conditioned and is a shorter way to get to the dining hall/classrooms once you figure it out!

9) Chouinard is pronounced “shih-nard” CSSSA is pronounced “see-sah” 

10) curfew is VERY IMPORTANT. they mean it when they say that 1 minute late is late (unfortunately). teachers are a little more lax about time, but the RA’s aren’t.

11) the Valencia Shopping Center isn’t as close as they make it seem. it’s not a long walk, but it’s hot. there’s a Von’s (supermarket, basically the LA version of Safeway or Publix), Michael’s Crafts, Party City, and Walmart (amongst other food establishments)

12) you’re allowed to put up streamers and decorations on the dorm walls as long as its done with scotch tape or masking tape. we went to party city and got some Dora the Explorer decorations. edgy, i know.

13) if you forget some supplies, you can get some from the student store on campus! it’s a little more expensive than Von’s or Walmart, but it’s closer

14) there are two cool cafe hang outs on campus! one is Mom’s Cafe, which is by Chouinard and it’s usually pretty crowded but has microwaves and games and you can watch TV and stuff. Tatum Cafe is inside the main building by the nurse’s office. it’s a little coffee shop that is reasonably priced and has really good iced matcha lattes. a lot of cw kids hang out there

15) laundry is a BITCH AND A HALF. on the weekends there are always huge lines (i’ve spent upwards of 3 hours doing one load of laundry) so definitely try and do it on week days or when there’s open washers and dryers. the washing machines accept credit/debit cards and quarters, not cash or dollar coins.

16) they mean it when they say that they’ll expel you for drugs or alcohol or doing anything stupid and irresponsible. just don’t do it. it’s only 4 weeks.

17) always wear your name tag! you won’t get in serious trouble for it like michael fields says you will it’s embarrassing to get called out for forgetting so it’s easier to just wear it

18) it’s super easy to make friends, even in different departments, so don’t stress about it. everyone’s really nice and just wants to have a good time. nobody WANTS to be an asshole

19) the food’s actually pretty good. better than you’d expect. even if you don’t like what they’re serving, there’s always a salad bar, cereal, pastries, and multiple vending machines across campus

20) the sublevel’s fucking awesome (it’s one of my favorite places on campus!) it’s in the main building so just take the stairs all the way down to the basement. have fun!!

21) they don’t let you take prescription medications back to your dorms - you have to leave them at the nurse’s office (in the main building) and take them there when you need them. for non-prescription drugs (like advil) you should let the nurse know that you have them, but you can keep them in the dorms

22) if you’re going to bring and play Cards Against Humanity, definitely keep it on the down low. since it’s rated 17+ most people aren’t really supposed to play it and if the RA’s catch you, they might take it away. just be sneaky about it

23) attach your key to your lanyard/name tag so you don’t lose it. i brought a piece of ribbon and tied my key to my lanyard, other people slid the key on their string, etc. (speaking of lanyards: you don’t need to bring a new lanyard to put your ID badge and stuff into. the ones they give you are fine)

24) go to all the events that you can, even if it’s not specifically marketed towards your department! it’s always cool to see what everyone’s up to

25) the cots are actually pretty comfortable (arguably more comfortable than the Actual Beds) so don’t flip out if you’re sleeping on them.

26) so many people dye their hair at csssa. it’s fun and kind of a rite of passage, but just rinse the dye out in the showers by the pool so it doesn’t stain the bathrooms

it’s CSSSA APP TIME! if you have any last minute questions about visual arts, the application, my application, day to day life, or anything, just hit me up!

here’s my application to csssa’s cw program for 2017! reading everyone else’s apps saved my ass while i was writing mine, so i thought i’d add to the lot (i decided against posting my personal statement). 

update: i just got accepted!!! message me if you did too!!

assignment B: memoir

I never looked forward to visiting here.

I had grown accustomed to the metronome of endless beeping machines syncopating to my heartbeat and footsteps. I knew what it was like to walk alone through the doors that open with a happy “ding!” and to be greeted by faces of people whose minds would rather be anywhere but here. I memorized every last crack in the sterile white flooring, every last wrinkle beneath the eyes of the woman at reception. I could never forget her face; shining and sparkly, a firework in such a bleak atmosphere. She pointed me to your room, and I walked down the corridors, eyes on my feet. Left, right, left, right.

Conversations started out uncomfortable at first – they always did. Your mom was there, doing work in the recliner chair she now called home, surrounded by an army of water bottles and tissues. She and I exchanged small talk before she left you and me alone. You already had enough teddy bears to last a lifetime, so instead I brought you a book to read. Every smile you made was forced, even if you meant it to be genuine. I heard your breath rasp in your throat when you inhaled through your lungs. I wondered how you breathed when there was a tube in your chest. I didn’t ask.

Your grandpa walked in with two bracelets. He told us they’re “wish bracelets” and to make wishes when we put them on. When they fell off, our wishes would come true. Light had returned to your eyes in the moment I placed the bracelet on your brittle wrist.

My bracelet fell off within a month, yet you were still in the hospital.

assignment C: dramatic writing

A quiet night in the streets of California. NICK, a pale boy dressed in all black, is walking down the street alone. He falls onto the side of the street, wincing in pain.

Enter LAURA.

LAURA: Oh my, are you okay?

NICK: (pained) I’m fine.

LAURA: Are you sure? You look like you’re hurt.

NICK: Not hurt, just hungry. Haven’t eaten in a few days.

LAURA: Oh! I have a granola bar in my bag if you want it.

NICK: That’s not exactly the kind of food I eat.

LAURA: Are you on a diet?

NICK: No.

LAURA:  Oh, well. I shouldn’t have assumed, I’m sorry. Can I get you anything else? I wish I had a salad on me. You can eat salad, right?

NICK: (shakes head)

LAURA: What can you eat, then?

NICK: (shrugs)

LAURA: I can’t help you unless you tell me what kind of crazy food you like! I don’t want you to pass out, you’re already so pale and all. Can’t you tell me what you’ll eat?

NICK: (quietly) Blood.

LAURA: What?

NICK: (louder) Blood.

LAURA: You’re bleeding? Where?

NICK: I drink blood. (pause) I’m a vampire.

LAURA: That’s funny. (more hesitant) You’re funny.

NICK: Look, I don’t want to scare you, but I’m starving. (LAURA backs away) No, no I don’t want to eat you! I just need blood. I need you to help me.

LAURA: Why can’t you do it by yourself?

NICK: I’ve been walking for hours trying to find food — I’ll collapse again.

LAURA: But you can’t die. You’re already dead.

NICK: Pain is pain, nonetheless. Please? You don’t want to make an enemy of a vampire, do you? (he smiles, revealing pointed teeth)

LAURA: What are you saying?

NICK: Could you help me find something to eat?

LAURA: You mean “someone?”

NICK: More or less.

assignment D: prose fiction

I need a new heart.

My old one is shattered beyond repair. It was made of glass and filled to the brim with water. I liked it that way. My heart had never broken before, but then I met this girl. She was an enigma to me. She tucked secrets under her ink-stained arms, she stuffed her words in her mouth even though she knew just what to say. I’d like to describe her as invincible, maybe a goddess, but I know that’d be a lie. I think she also had a glass heart because she protected it like a hawk to its nest.

She was more careful with her heart. I let her feel mine when we first went to the park, and I showed it to her later that night. She never let me see hers, not even after she would fall asleep with her head buried in my hair, or after her needlepoint arms would reach to me and grasp onto my wrists during her nightmares. She confused me, infuriated me, mesmerized me; I was infatuated with her. Every time I thought of her I would imagine her shoving skeletons haphazardly in her closet behind dusty sweaters, and I found myself wondering what she could be hiding from me.

I had never truly been close to her until the night I caught her weeping on the steps of my apartment. Her eyes overflowed with the black ink that coursed through her veins. It spilled from her eyes and stained her slender fingers. She collapsed on my shoulders and told me that when she was little, her mother found her kissing Charlotte and took her heart away for a week. She confessed to me that the last time she found herself with a girl, she felt so guilty that she had fractured her heart herself. I told her that if she ever felt like she couldn’t be alone with her heart that I would keep it safe, but she shook her head. We sat in silence until morning.

I know we all have secrets; mine is that I gave her my heart. I took the glass out of my chest and placed it in her hands, still filled to the top with water, glowing ever so slightly against her dark hands. I told her that I wanted her to keep it safe for me because she kept hers so well hidden. She stared into my eyes. She stared into my heart. She shoved it back into my hands. It fractured. She opened the door to my apartment. It began to leak. The moment the latch clicked shut, water had erupted onto the carpet. All that my goddess left in her wake was the shattered glass in my hands.

I want my next heart to be made of iron.

assignment E: poetry

I know a hallway

where time

stops,

where secrets

are tucked under

the wooden slats

of its walls

and are held

captive,

only to be shot

at me when

I am

frozen.

I know a hallway

where shadows

are cast

in pitch,

the loud shouts,

the stifled cries,

taken hostage between

the cracks

of its paint.

I know a hallway

where reality

ceases to

exist, and

I am

left

glued

to the floorboards

with you

and your steel

fists.

I know a hallway

that slips

a leash

around my neck

just loose enough

that I think

I am

free,

but pulls me back,

bruises me blue,

just a friendly reminder. i believe in y’all!

first off, that’s a perfectly valid question; nothing to be sorry about!

here’s my app if you’re interested. there’s a bunch of advice down there too

[DISCLAIMER: we all have different sources of inspiration, so my method might not work for everyone. maybe ask multiple ppl if you wanna be thorough?]

tbh i was pretty bad at finding inspiration for this too. one of the most important things to think about while writing the app is that this thing is about YOU. like in any app, your main goal is to show the admin your personality, beliefs, interests, goals, and other crap like that. what i ended up doing was making a mental list of all the different things that are important in my life. if you look at my app, i condensed it into a few main points; in order: reading, music/performing, family, creative freedom, and lgbtqia rights (my optional assignment was actually something i wrote a while back that i edited to fit the word count lol). then i just… wrote? i find it easier to write if i don’t overthink my writing. the csssa ppl are looking for potential, not perfection. also, one may find that a certain amount of time crunch can do wonders for creativity, but don’t tell anyone i said that