Hello, friends!

So 2018 ended a hot minute ago, meaning 2019 also started a hot minute ago. In all honesty, I intended to talk about my winter break and the start of the new year over a month ago, but clearly that didn’t happen. Instead, I’ll just brief you on what’s been going on.

academic

I’m in my final spring semester (I graduate next fall). This semester, I have 5 classes (plus Honors), 4 of which are with the same two professors–who are also married! It’s wack. Lemme break it down for you.

Modern American Fiction: With one of my two professors, I’m doing an independent study on the work of American Modernists. He’s helping me craft the study around my capstone project so I can read works that will be beneficial to my novel. Basically, we’re reading a ton of books and discussing them together: what we thought, what techniques were employed, how to understand and use these techniques. It’s a really great opportunity to delve into my favorite subject in literature.

Shakespeare: This class is required for the English major and only offered in the spring, so I’m studying Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets with the other of my two professors. I don’t love Shakespeare but some of my best friends are in the class and we have fun reading the plays together (because silent reading plays never works).

Mythology: With the Shakespeare professor, I’m also taking Mythology, one of my favorite areas to study. I love learning more about myths I’ve studied before (looking at you, Percy Jackson) and encountering entirely new myths (or just new depths to old myths)!

Senior Portfolio: With my independent study professor, I’m taking Portfolio, where all 4 students are working to improve craft and workshop our stories. The class is nice because it is so small, and we’re really able to give each other’s work the appropriate attention, as well as improve our craft through writing exercises and books. I have the opportunity to workshop my Honors Capstone novel here, which is a little different than drafting it, as it gives me the perspectives of other creators on my work.

FLARE: The Flagler Review is my school’s literary magazine, where I’m working as a poetry editor. So far, it’s been crazy busy. We had 340 submissions for poetry alone, with up to 5 poems per submission. We have to get through all the submissions pretty fast so we can pick out our favorites, work with the authors as necessary, and begin the publication process. So far it’s been a lot of work and giving me the experience to figure out if this is something I want to pursue in my career.

Honors: As part of the Honors Program, I’m working on my capstone project. Incidentally, my mentor for this is also the professor for FLARE. More on my progress later.

activities

With no clubs or internships this semester, it was time to find a new job. My first few endeavors were met with no success. But the good news is, I have connections. My boss in the News & Information department at my work study knew someone who was looking for a freelance copywriter, which means I am now a freelance copywriter? It’s a weirdly adult thing to be; I have to fill out a W-9 (which means I’m a contractor??) and write up invoices for my services. It’s a scary new world, but it’s perfect for my skills and pays really well.

That means this semester, I am both doing my work study and working as a freelance copywriter! We’re getting that bread and that resume experience.

creative

If you missed it, I started my Honors Capstone novel over break. I have several vlogs about my writing process from character development and outlining to actually drafting. Here’s a link to the playlist on YouTube.

Since I was vlogging my process, that means I’ve actually been writing a lot! It’s been great to be creative, and deadlines hold me accountable to someone other than myself, which is a great motivator. So far, I’ve written my 6 major scenes, as per Aristotle’s Incline, and I’m now writing chronologically through Act 1. I have about 8000 words and going strong.

inspiration

Over break, I read 2 stories. The most important was The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. It is one of the best books I’ve ever read and I cried the appropriate amount for someone whose soul was moved in such a profound way.

I also read The Architect of Elysia, which was a free novella by Vivien Reis she sent out through her newsletter. I like Vivien’s YouTube content, and I haven’t had the chance to read any of her books yet, so I wanted to try out her writing. While the novella provided a cool origin story for her other work, I personally didn’t find the writing to be particularly strong. As a marketing technique, I understand why she sent it out for free, but it was pretty clear she didn’t put as much editing and development into it as one would a book being published for purchase. Still, it’s an interesting introduction to her story’s world, and hopefully her published novels are more groomed.

(I also read most of Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings, but since I haven’t finished it, I won’t be discussing my thoughts yet.)

In terms of TV, I caught up on Brooklyn 99 over break, which is one of the funniest and most heartfelt shows I’ve ever seen. Now it’s just a matter of watching the new episodes on Hulu as they come out this season.

Now that I’m back at school, I’ve been making Ray watch all of Downton Abbey (and she is appropriately addicted). I passed it off as research for my capstone, since season 2 takes place during WWI, but let’s be real, I just wanted to watch my favs again.

We also started watching the HGTV show We Bought the Farm because I’ve suddenly become obsessed with the idea of ranch life (a concept I really idealized as a child reading Hank the Cowdog books). The show is only fueling my desire to own a farm with horses and goats.

Perhaps most importantly, I finally saw Bohemian Rhapsody in theaters, which may be one of my new favorite movies. It tells such a beautiful story of both Freddie Mercury and Queen, while not skimping on the challenging details of his sexuality and struggle with AIDS, as many creators in Hollywood likely would have. The movie really brings Queen back to life for a whole new generation, while still paying homage to the era it came from.

personal

A couple cool things have happened recently, like being invited to join the National Honors Society Alpha Chi and being asked to present some of my work at Honors Day as a representative for the English Honors Society, Sigma Tau Delta, which I joined at the end of last semester. I’m very grateful to get such exciting opportunities!

My friends and I have done some fun stuff recently, like going to the Chamblin Bookmine in Jacksonville and visiting the Alligator Farm with the Honors Program (as featured above). I also turn 21 on February 18 so I get to keep aging, which is great.

Since I graduate at the end of this year, the future is leering ominously. I try not to think about it. I still don’t get enough sleep or treat my body right so that’s been going well. At least I still see a therapist!

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That’s what I’ve been up to! How has the 2019 treated you so far? Feel free to like, comment, or follow as you see fit.

That’s all for now! Thanks for reading.

Jayda