#teammembermonday

FIRST: name, major, classification, and hometown

 Adam Navara, Biomedical Engineering, Junior, San Antonio, TX

QUESTION NUMERO UNO: why did you join TEP?

I’ve just always had a love for writing and art, ever since I was in 5th grade and my awesome teacher, Ms. Aleyassin, instilled that in me. But I had never really done anything with it, other than my own writing, so when I started college I just really wanted to finally join an organization to foster that love.  TEP was that organization, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life.

QUESTION NUMERO TWO: what do you do in your free time?

Hahaha, I sleep when I can. I suppose I do that in my non-free time too sometimes though.

QUESTION THREE THREE THREE: favorite book, movie, poetry, tv show

 My favorite book is definitely Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, really, really funny book and probably the best ending I’ve ever read in my life.  My favorite movie changes all the time, but I’ve always loved the first Pirates of the Caribbean.  Poetry changes even more than the movie, I love just being in the moment with poetry, so my favorite would always be one of the ones I had just read or heard that day.  Favorite TV show… I just finished watching the first two seasons of Rick and Morty which was really funny.  I’ve always loved Friends too, Phoebe’s the best.

QUETSION FO: if you could have dinner with any literary character who and why?

 Hmmmm, probably someone who could cook really well… I remember Pi Patel, from Life of Pi, cooking something with a lot of spices, which is how I cook, so that would probably be pretty good.  Plus I think he’d have an interesting perspective on the world and life.

 QUESTION FIVER: where is your favorite reading place?

 Somewhere outside and quiet.

QUESTION SIX: how would you describe your personal writing style?

 I’ve always thought I write like I speak, which is generally minimally.  However, I think most people write like they think, and my thoughts have always been long-winded and going off in several directions at once, which I think is how I write.  Long-winded. And with comma splices.  Lots and lots of comma splices.

QUESTION S-S-S-SEVEN: who do you draw inspiration from?

 My family, mostly.  My mom for her hard work and patience, my dad for the career he’s made for himself in science, which is something I strive to emulate, and my sister for her vitality and determination.

QUESTION EIGHT: if you could switch places with any literary character who and why?

Probably someone who’s got it made.  There aren’t really many of those in the literary world though.  I guess it would have to be one of the leads from a 19th century romance novel, like Jane Eyre or Pride and Prejudice.  They always seemed to end up rich and in love.

QUESTION NIIIIIINE: what is your favorite quote?

 From George Bernard Shaw’s play Back to Mathuselah: “You see things and you say ‘Why?’.  But I dream things that never were and I say ‘Why not?’.

 QUESTION TEN: what is your absolute dream job?

FIRST: name, major, classification, and hometown

Alyssa Brady Supply Chain Management with International Studies Minor Junior Houston

QUESTION NUMERO UNO: why did you join TEP?

I first happened upon this wonderful organization when I was a wee little freshman and I saw this really pretty sign that said “Do you like poetry and pretty words?” and I was like YES I DO CAN I JOIN THIS ORGANIZATION?! I just think that it is amazing to work with other cool kids and make a magazine filled with prose, poetry, and art made by our fellow students!

QUESTION NUMERO TWO: what do you do in your free time?

In my free time I like to go on spontaneous road trips to avoid completing my undergraduate degree planner. Also, I like to rewatch The Office to practice my Dwight monologues.

QUESTION THREE THREE THREE: favorite book, movie, poetry, tv show

Little Miss Sunshine Derrick C. Brown The Office I can’t decide on a book

QUETSION FO: if you could have dinner with any literary character who and why?

I would like to have dinner with Enzo the dog from The Art of Racing in the Rain. But I would like Enzo to be able to speak to me and not just have me read his mind. Ironically, there is this Irish saying that says, “If you ask a dog a question and he answers, you will surely die,” I hope this doesn’t apply during my dinner with Enzo.

QUESTION FIVER: where is your favorite reading place?

I will read anywhere that is near a window. This means cars, planes, coffee shops, my bed, just sitting down on the floor by a window (I like options).

QUESTION EIGHT: if you could switch places with any literary character who and why? here is this book called Ireland by Robert Delaney, where the main character literally walks around Ireland and meets the coolest people and figures everything out and I would like that.

QUESTION NIIIIIINE: what is your favorite quote?

“Get me some ice and a Styrofoam bucket”

QUESTION TEN: what is your absolute dream job?

FIRST: name, major, classification, and hometown:

Nina Kathleen Rodriguez “Big Baller and Shot Caller” Smith (I’ll tone it down now because really who actually thinks that highly of themselves) Junior journalism major from ArlingFUN, Texas

QUESTION NUMERO UNO: why did you join TEP?

Because all the cool kids were doing it. What do you mean that is not a substantive enough answer?!

QUESTION NUMERO TWO: what do you do in your free time?

 I do know myself to be a person who occasionally relishes in free time a bit too much. “Free time” is really “professional procrastinating time.”  I often bind one of my close pals into hours of contemplative and blindly “profound” conversation while driving the 2818/Hwy 6 loop around College Station. However, you might hear me laughing in my room alone to many a Grace Helbig or Hannah Hart video, and delving into the latest pursuits of the inimitably wonderful Mindy Kaling. In my more no-nonsense pursuits I listen to podcasts from the Nerdist Network and spend hours at Om Grown Yoga Studio in Downtown Bryan finding Nirvana. You can decide for yourself whether or not that last bit is a joke. Hehe.

QUESTION THREE THREE THREE: favorite book, movie, poetry, tv show

4 bookz - I have a hard time trying to decide between the Encyclopedia Britannica and Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by William Shakespeare. Both scholarly choices, but I’ll go with the latter to appeal to the literarily parched masses. Oh and by “Shakespeare” I actually mean Mindy Kaling. Yes, a scholarly choice indeed. A real confection of literature I know. 4 poetry - In studying Marianne Moore, I was rather enthralled with her mark made on early twentieth century American literature. The whole idea of her and Ezra Pound roving around New York City together in the 1920s is very romantic and cool. Plus, she was one of the first feminist writers/poets when the idea of gender disparity was a million times more prevalent than it is today. She was making bold moves while creating some of the most tangible and real work I’ve ever read. 4 preferred on-screen entertainment - I do love a good Sleepless in Seattle and, as one could guess, I watch The Mindy Project religiously.

QUETSION FO: if you could have dinner with any literary character who and why?

I think my 5-year-old self would be highly disappointed if I did not answer Junie B. Jones. She was my world during my early elementary school coming of age, and I paid homage to her in naming my first car Junie B. Jetta. Plus, there would be very little pressure to ask the right questions because she (assuming she has not aged traditionally) is six.

QUESTION FIVER: where is your favorite reading place?

Aspirational Nina would say in the nook of a dimly lit coffee shop with a mug of dark roast by my side. Every once in a while, aspirational Nina will peer up above the cover of her erudite literature selection and contemplate the fragility of life and the essence of existentialism.  However, real Nina admits that reading only ever happens in bed right before she’s about to go to sleep.  Nothing romantic or mysterious about it truly.

QUESTION SIX: how would you describe your personal writing style?

 A Venti quad soy latte with no whip.

QUESTION S-S-S-SEVEN: who do you draw inspiration from?

 Would you be surprised if I said Mindy Kaling? No? Okay, good talk.

QUESTION EIGHT: if you could switch places with any literary character who and why?

 Hester Prynne. She had it easy.

QUESTION NIIIIIINE: what is your favorite quote?

“I prefer men to cauliflowers” – Mrs. Dalloway in Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. I read that about a year ago and have had it on my wall ever since. I don’t really have a quote that I’ve kept constant from age 12, but I like this one because it reminds me to be frivolous and that it’s okay to prefer men to cauliflowers. Also, good generic go-to of mine is “don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.” While it is hella indistinctive, its profoundly important. i.e. when trying to complete school, make friends, mold relationships, do anything, etc.

QUESTION TEN: what is your absolute dream job?

Davis Land, Telecommunications and Media Studies, Whitehouse, TX

 QUESTION NUMERO UNO: why did you join TEP?

 Well it seemed like a good idea at the time…

 I felt I had something to offer. TEP had only existed for a semester previously and the semester I joined it was my first semester here (how many times can I use ‘semester’ in this sentence). I was excited to be involved with something that fit my interests that was so new and full of potential.

 QUESTION NUMERO TWO: what do you do in your free time?

 Hahahahahaha.

 QUESTION THREE THREE THREE: favorite book, movie, poetry, tv show

 Oh favorites are so difficult. Currently I’m reading The Machine Question by David Gunkel, which I’m enjoying so far. It’s non-fiction (I don’t read a lot of novels, shamefully) and about how we are to ethically interact with artificial intelligence. Some of my “all time favorites” in different genres are: Repeating Ourselves by Robert Fink (non-fiction), The Captain Asks For A Show of Hands by Nick Flynn (poetry), the movie Children of Men, and the show Twin Peaks.

 QUETSION FO: if you could have dinner with any literary character who and why?

 Crowley from Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens. I feel like a dinner with him would lead me to involvement in some biblical heist that neither of us really wanted to be involved with and we’d both act pretty indifferent towards it. It would be really funny.

 QUESTION FIVER: where is your favorite reading place?

 Definitely my back porch. It’s not really that pretty or comfortable but I’m always able to concentrate there.

 QUESTION SIX: how would you describe your personal writing style?

 I tend to write (in my poems) like I’m forgetting what I’m saying as I’m writing it, as if you’re only hearing one side of a conversation. I also tend to use metaphors of being trapped inside things or of things breaking open. A lot of stuff happens (physically) to other stuff in my poems. In prose I’m very minimal, often repeating phrases and really trying to hone in on a particular feeling through repetition and a child-like diction.

 QUESTION S-S-S-SEVEN: who do you draw inspiration from?

 I cite Nick Flynn like he’s the only poet I’ve read. Kiki Petrosino’s book, Hymn for the Black Terrific had a profound effect on how I think about form.

 QUESTION EIGHT: if you could switch places with any literary character who and why?

 I imagine in some book somewhere there is a rock described sitting at the bottom of a riverbed. I would like to be the rock. Seems peaceful.

 QUESTION NIIIIIINE: what is your favorite quote?

 “Work harder.”

 QUESTION TEN: what is your absolute dream job?

Christian Amadeus Taylor is from Killeen, Texas and majors in Biochemistry/Genetics. He is class of 2016 (but really 2015) and is on The Eckleburg Project’s poetry team.

1. Why did you join TEP?

I crave the story. The Eckleburg Project offers an impossible chance to hear any Texas A&M student’s tale. This school has so many people, so many perspectives! I get to see them all at Eckleburg; that level of honesty is rare in day-to-day interaction. Connections are made every day, yeah, but written word skips pleasantries to immediately give you the real meat of a person. TEP gives me the ability to meet people I have never seen. I feel closer to my campus after reading each submission.

2. What are your hobbies, talents, interests?

-It comes as a shock to those I’ve told in the past, but I have decided to hide no more: I write a lot of poetry.

-As my suitemates are well aware of, I play the harmonica from time to time. Because you can never get too good at playing “Ode to Joy.”

-I hunt for strange clothing like a tribesman on the Serengeti. It drives my friends insane.

-Aside from my artsy half, I absolutely adore science, especially chemistry. It’s merely a credit for some, but darn if I don’t try my hardest to make it a hobby. Some perspective: the lab I do research in may as well be a second home. If there was a bed in my office, I would probably never leave.

3. What makes you a unique add to the TEP team?

I like to think I am scientific in my approach to life, even if that means certain aspects come less smoothly than others. Considering all angles to a situation/poem is one of my biggest attributes

4. How do you spend your weekends or free time?

Nachos, Netflix binging, climbing trees, and watching bad horror movies with friends

5. Favorite book? Movie? Poetry? Tv show?

Book: On The Road by Jack Kerouac is my all-time favorite book, because it helped me realize hedonism wasn’t my scene and I respect Kerouac deeply for showing me that, regardless of his intentions.

Movie: Wes Anderson’s Darjeeling Limited, because it has yet to not make me smile like a fool by the end.

Poem: “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath scared me breathless when I read it the first time. My favorite poems always destroy me for a day.

TV Show: Community is the best show ever. That’s not even an opinion. This is fact.

6.  If you could have dinner with any literary character, who would it be and why?

Dean Moriarty from On the Road is perhaps the most intriguing character I have ever hated. I wonder what he would say to me if we shared a conversation about our lives... Would he find me boring? Or would we go stark-raving mad, talking in circles? His lifestyle ultimately made everyone he loved hate him, and sometimes I feel we share traits in that regard. Maybe he would be able to tell me what not to do.

7. Where’s your favorite reading place?

I have not been there in years, but the roof over my second-story bedroom at home. It’s not safe or even comfortable… but being above everything else, shrouded by oak leaves, eye-level with all the bird’s nests calms me down and helps me focus only on the book I’m reading.

8. Do you suffer from wanderlust? If so, where?

Ever since first-year high school German, Bavaria seemed like a wonderland. Hiking through the Black Forest is definitely something I plan on doing before I die.

9. What would you describe your personal writing style as?

My style varies from poem to poem (especially when I experiment with genres), but my go-to descriptor would be “stoic rambling”. I tend to spout nonsense and do so very wisely.

10. Who is your personal hero or inspiration, why?

Norman Borlaug, my personal hero and role model, produced wheat. That’s pretty much it. But he did it really well and now his innovations feed billions. He is an example of what hard work in the sciences can do for humanity, and I often think of him when lab work gets uninteresting or especially demanding.

11. Any Pets?

No pets! I’ve always wanted a chameleon, but I live in a dorm right now. I shall wait until I can give my dream chameleon a proper chaMansion, not some puny plastic prison.

12. List your top three fears.

-Destroying something expensive. I have nightmares about these things weekly.

-Police. I’m a law abiding citizen, I swear! I can’t help that sirens creep me out somethin’ fierce.

Cristina Camacho is an International Studies Major and is from Bogota, Colombia. She is in the class of 2017 and on the old sport team.

1. Why did you join TEP?

I was a little fishy trying to find my place in the enormous jungle that is A&M. Coming from a graduating class of 33 I was definitely freaked out about not finding people I would fit in with. I found TEP at the MSC Open House and I applied that very same night. I may still be a little fishy but I’ve definitely found people I belong with.

2. What makes you a unique add to the TEP team?

Probably the fact that I moved to the States six months ago after living in Colombia for nine years and attending a British international school. People are always surprised that I don’t know how to say a lot of words in English, like that cement bump thing that is in the middle of the road that separates the lanes that go in opposite directions. Also I had my very first Thanksgiving with TEP this past November. Also I can touch my toes.

3. How do you spend your weekends or free time?

Most of my free time is spent in my bed with a book or my computer, watching movies and falling in love with fictional characters. Lately I’ve taken to pretending I can sing “Let it Go” from Frozen, mostly in my car or my shower. It’s not always Frozen though, I’ll pretend I can sing whatever.  

4. Favorite book? Movie? Poetry? TV Show?

I love Gone with the Wind and The Perks of Being a Wallflower and all the Harry Potter books. I guess the same goes for movies. Also all Disney movies. My favorite TV show would have to be One Tree Hill. It has 9 seasons and 187 40-minute episodes, and I’ve watched them all twice. Don’t judge me.

5. If you could have dinner with any literary character, who would it be and why?

Scarlett O’Hara. She’s no walk in the park, but I love her will and strength and there’s no denying she’s a fun character. I’d hide the knives though, just in case. Fun fact: I wrote a 4,000 word essay on why we love Scarlett O’Hara even though we think we hate her. NERD ALERT.

6. Where’s your favorite reading place?

My bed. I like reading when it’s a little dark and very quiet. That way, my imagination runs wild and it feels like the story is happening around me and I can almost hear the characters’ voices.

7. Do you suffer from wanderlust? If so, where?

YES and EVERYWHERE. Especially Italy, I’m part Italian and I’d love to go back and really live it.

8. Who is your personal hero or inspiration? Why?

All my older siblings have been a huge inspiration and wonderful role models. They’re all intelligent, successful, kind and happy, and have incredible families. I like to think my future will look a lot like theirs.

9. Any pets?

I have a cat named Puffy. She’s fat and lazy. In fact, she’s sleeping on me right now and no matter how hard I try to get my legs out from under her enormous body, she won’t budge. She doesn’t care that I can’t feel my toes anymore. Silly cat.

10. List your top three fears.

Uhh SPIDERS SPIDERS SPIDERS. I don’t buy into that whole “they’re more afraid of you than you are of them” nonsense. They know they’re in control and they’re plotting an uprising to take over the world. And no matter what you say, you’re scared of spiders too. It’s a fact.

11. If you have a defining moment in your life, please share!

I’d have to say a defining moment was making the choice to come to college in the States. In Colombia people usually go to school in the same city they went to high school in, so it’s been difficult for both my parents and myself to make this change. It’s been a great experience, though, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

12. If you could switch places with any literary character, which would it be?

Mia Thermopolis. If you don’t know who that is I am disappointed. Have you googled her yet? Good! Then you know she turned out to be Princess of Genovia and her grandmother is Julie Andrews. I think this is self-explanatory.

13. Which book series do you wish was real?

Harry Potter! Can you imagine having magic wands and being able to apparate to classes and have Quidditch on ACTUAL FLYING BROOMSTICKS? The hypothetical excitement is too much.

14. Favorite quote?

“I’d rather be a could-be if I cannot be an are; because a could-be is a maybe who is reaching for a star. I’d rather be a has-been than a might-have-been, by far, for a might-have-been has never been, but a has was once an are.” – Milton Berle

Meet one of our old sports, Alyssa Brady! She's a freshman Business major from Houston!

1. Why did you join TEP?

Why wouldn’t you join an organization whose entire goal is to showcase the artistic and creative works of the students at Texas A&M?! Also, I became quite obsessed with slam poetry over the summer (thank you Button Poetry for posting all the videos) and I was so excited when I saw the words “creative magazine for poetry and prose” on a wooden sign by the MSC!

2. How do you spend your weekends or free time?

Studying and then convincing myself to study more because I know that I didn’t really study that hard when I was studying. When I fail to convince myself to study more, I’m probably planning day trips with my friends that we have yet to go on.

3. Favorite book? Movie? Poetry? TV show?

Books: I love Khlaed Hosseini, Frank Delaney (His books are all about Ireland and they are great. I have read every single one of them.), Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and Cloud Atlas. I also really love Mitch Albom, and I had the greatest discussion with the cutest old lady about Tuesdays with Morrie while waiting for my plane in the Boston airport.

Poetry: I am so fascinated with all kinds of poetry, especially slam poetry. Seriously go to Button Poetry’s Facebook page and watch ALL THEIR VIDEOS. And then go to Mic Check every Sunday night because it is the coolest thing ever and you will probably find me sitting in the corner staring at whoever is reading in amazement. I might also be crying.

4. Where’s your favorite reading place?

Anywhere really. As long as I have my book, I don’t really like to stop reading until I finish it. I am notorious for bringing books with me to the grocery store.

5. Do you suffer from wanderlust? If so, where?

IRELAND. I went there this summer and the next time I go back, I don’t think I will leave. I also want to hike across Europe. If anyone wants to go, I WILL COME WITH YOU. I just saw The Secret Life of Walter Mitty so Iceland and Greenland are looking pretty cool right now. I WANT TO GO EVERYWHERE.

6. Any pets?

I have a horse named Romeo, he is funnier than most people I know. Here is a video of him being adorable. He also takes selfies, I’m not kidding. I just hold up the camera for him and he poses. I have two dogs, Kipsee and Julie and they are probably sleeping on my bed right now because they think it belongs to them. 

This is Romeo:

7. List your top three fears.

1) Rafiki from the Lion King haunted my childhood. I don’t even care if I spelled his name wrong because I am NOT googling it because I know a picture of him is going to pop up.

2) Real life monkeys. Even the little ones are terrifying.

3) Someone coming in the middle of the night and sticking a needle in my arm. I am terrified of both needles and the crook of my elbow.

8. If you could switch places with any literary character, which one would it be?

Ronan O’Mara in Frank Delaney’s Ireland. He goes walking (literally he walks the entire island) around Ireland in search of a mystical storyteller and meets the coolest people ever. Seriously read the book, it is wonderful and then you will want to come walk around Ireland with me. YAY!

9.  Which book series do you wish was real?

Harry Potter, so that the flying horses that pull the Beauxbaton carriage can be real and I can have one.

10. Favorite quote?

They're actually lyrics from my favorite band Kodaline’s (Yes, they are Irish. Yes, you should go listen to them.) song, After the Fall .

“Are you searching for an answer, or just peace of mind

When your life has lost its meaning

Meet our Editor in Chief, Madison Mae Parker! She's a senior English Creative Writing major from Dallas, Texas!

1. Why did you join TEP? I joined TEP in its humble beginnings last December 2012. As soon as I heard about the idea of starting a literary magazine on campus, I jumped right on it! As a junior at the time, I had spent almost every semester in a new organization, event, or club of some sort to find a creative outlet suitable for me with people who shared in my interests as well. I even looked into transferring multiple times because of this lack of community. The Eckleburg Project appeared at just the right time and seemed to fit all the desires I was looking for since entering TAMU. It has definitely become my creative outlet, inspiration, source of friendships, and much more- this much is for sure.

2. What are your hobbies, talents, interests?

Besides consuming a vast amount of cappuccinos and hot sauce (never fear- items eaten separately) and watching ridiculous amounts of cartoons, writing and people are my passions. I write poetry as well as prose, mainly short stories, but am branching out into screenplays soon (fingers crossed!).  Anyway I can combine people, art, and writing, I am there. I love all aspects of art, but I believe writing has a much more tangible, immediate reach. Art museums and exhibits are amazing, but a much smaller sect of people who will attend these events (sadly).  Writing and reading, however, provide a much less intimidating art environment; it is in a language that people read, use, and speak everyday; writing/reading is an art form that people can tap into in the privacy of their own home. Art reminds people they are not alone in their struggles and events in life. Art gives a voice to the voiceless. I do not think the passion of people and art could ever be separated into two categories. If you are passionate about one, you are inherently passionate about the other for people are art and art is people.

3. What makes you a unique addition to TEP team?

As Editor in Chief, I basically get full reigns to act like the senile grandma of the group. Kidding…kind of. But in all seriousness, I get to do a lot of the behind the scenes work, which is a lot of fun, but places me behind a computer screen way more often than my 5 year old attention span can handle. My job entails a lot of brain storming and planning ahead: What will TEP need in six months? A year? Five years? What do we need to be doing now to prepare for this goal? What do other successful literary magazines do that we could be doing? Is there an untapped area that we aren’t reaching? Etc. I get to think big picture and pass my crazy ideas along to the officer board to get their feedback, which often turns into a creative idea jungle with seven people spit balling ideas around (which is AWESOME). I really love my job for a multitude of reasons; however, one of my favorites is that I see the magazine from an idea to tangible completion, allowing me to appreciate the final product that much more.

4. How do you like to spend your free time?

Sleeping...but really. Whoever invented sleep must be, like, a genius or something. If I am not sleeping, you can probably find me hanging around Downtown Bryan, most likely listening to some live music of sorts, at Mic Check Poetry on Sundays at Rev’s (starts at 8:30 and is wicked awesome and free. Yes.), helping run poetry workshops with Mic Check, or yet again, enjoying all the cartoons whilst stalking cats on the interwebs of face Google books media..things…. yeas. (Because that is how the Internet works, right?) 

5. Favorite book? Movie? Poetry? TV show?

As far as favorite things go, often it is whatever I most recently devoured/still digesting. There are a few books/movies/etc. that stick with me, but more often than not, it is whatever I most recently enjoyed; regardless, I’ll quit my ramblings and share:

Movie: Garden State, Anastasia, Spirited Away, American Beauty

Book: Virgin Suicides, A Moveable Feast, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stargirl, A Room of One’s Own, Scottie: the Daughter of…, almost anything Kafka or Fitzgerald

Poet: Hafiz, Anis Mojgani, Saul Williams, Jeffrey McDaniel, Kahlil Gibran

TV Shows: Modern Family. New Girl, Adventure Time, Carrie Diaries (okay, guilty pleasure. Sorry not sorry)

6. Do you suffer from wanderlust? If so, where? 

I studied abroad in London spring of 2012 for six months and would up and move there in a heartbeat, if I could. I can’t even formulate into words why I love it so. That city is home-simple as that. In addition, Seattle is a city that I have always wanted to see, and am excited to say, I will be finally exploring it for the first time come January 1st!  SEATTLE! HERE I COME! HUZZAH!!!!

7. What would you describe your personal writing style as?

My prose style is…absurd. I try to invent the most ridiculous of people and places because, I mean, why not?! But despite the absurdity, I still want it to be believable. Like your weird neighbor no one ever talks to and smells like old cheese and bologna sandwiches? This could be her in the story. So I guess relatable, while still hilariously far fetched. (AKA, like most of my life).

Hmm. Poetry is harder to describe for me. Within the last year, I have written more slam, spoken word style poetry, but I think I am still finding my voice in poetry and solidifying what Madi Parker has to say/how to say it/ why she says it. (Madison Mae often refers to herself in the third person too. It’s fine. She promises she’s not completely insane.)

8. Who is your personal hero or inspiration? Why?

My friends and family. “But Madi! That doesn’t count! That is the cliché, cop out answer.” Well, ya didn’t let me finish. My friends and family because I get to see day in and day out the crap life throws their way, yet their resiliency to stand back up and keeping going- their continual pursuit to find beauty in the mundane. It is about as encouraging and inspiring of a thing that I could ever imagine! You can hear a story of someone far off that did some great feat, but you don’t him or her personally. When a loved one does some great feat in your eyes, this carries such a greater impact than some movie star or hero (not that it lessens what the hero did, by any means).

9. List your top three fears.

1.)   Apathy: that I will become boring and fearful of pursuing my dreams. Becoming old does not mean growing old. There is a very distinct difference. 

2.) Ocean: But really. That thing is dark and huge and who says Neptune doesn’t still live down there. There is some statistic (sorry I can’t find it/remember it) that not all of oceanic animals have been discovered. Ugh… No thanks. I’ll stay on land where I can walk and breathe and see my feet and stuff

3.) Creativity: I will run out of ideas or creative inspiration in life. 

10. If you have a defining moment in your life, please share!