awriteratcsssa

[awriteratcsssa]

Day 28 - 11:06

I can’t believe I’m writing this from my own room...

- I actually woke up early today (7:00) without an alarm. I think my body knew that it was a big day. I went through my morning routine, packed some more, then headed to breakfast. for once, almost the entire squad was assembled at 8:00. 

- bfast: strawberry crepes, hash browns, fruit

first time I cried today. one of my friends wrote me a handwritten note and two others wrote me poems. I read them at the bfast table and collapsed into tears. I love these people all so much.

- group photo in front of the calarts blue wall! plus a profile pic for me :) 

- last of packing for me. the room looked so bare :(

- down to sublevels for more group pictures! our squad is better than yours (Don’t Ya Wish U Were Us)

- 10:00 = last creative writing event, graduation ceremony. this entire thing made me so unbelievably emo. essentially, all of the teachers singled out each student with a few sentences before handing out certificates and medals. I started crying for other ppl and I basically didn’t stop crying throughout the ceremony. Adrianna said the nicest things about me but I can’t even remember most of it bc I was just crying through it. after everyone had been addressed, we had half an hour to hang out with our department. which just became more of a cry fest with everyone hugging everyone else. we were all one giant mess of tears. this entire group of 75 ppl has really become like a family, even though I don’t personally know everyone. only we will ever really know what these past 4 weeks have been like, and what a special bond that is.

- my group of friends decided to stop festering in tears and went back down to the sublevels to hang out amidst ourselves. only we just started crying more bc someone decided it was a good idea to give a speech that made us all ball. and then another of my friends followed with her own address. my eyes started to hurt bc I was crying so much.

- lunch: burger, fries, cookie

this is my last meal at csssa. holy shit.

- closing remarks by michael fields. they aren’t kidding when they say he is an outstanding public speaker. everything he said was so motivational and I am so proud to be a part of this csssa community. I have gained so much from this experience and I want to keep contributing back to my art. I held it together for the most part until he said that csssa 2017 was officially over and “don’t stop believing” started to play and beach balls rained down. then the floodgates opened and didn’t close for a solid fifteen minutes. more hugging ensued, and I don’t understand how i’m not out of tears yet. I got to meet one of my friend’s parents, which was kinda cool.

- back to dorm for final check, returning key. then we ran back out to take a final group picture, only not everyone showed up in time. we had some final words and hugs and then my roommate and I sprinted back to dorms to get our luggage and head to the curb to wait for the shuttle, since we were already late. only we really weren’t, considering the fact that the shuttle didn’t arrive for another 30 minutes and we were stuck waiting in the heat. I think that was probably the reason I started to feel sick right as the shuttles finally arrived. my vision felt blurred and brightened, like a filter. it was weird. also my head hurt and I felt slightly nauseous. luckily, I was able to get on the bus pretty quickly, and after a couple of minutes hunched over in my seat I felt better. the rest of the drive went pretty smoothly, save for the moment I thought I lost my earphones (I didn’t.) 

- baggage check-in and security at the airport went pretty quickly and I got to the gate with more than an hour to spare. I met another csssa student (animation) and we started talking. she offered me dried mangoes, so basically she’s the best. slowly but surely, other csssa students started to join us. I really hadn’t talked to some of them at all, but in that limited time we all bonded over interesting stories and shared experiences. the plane ended up being delayed a little over an hour. during that time, I treated myself to a matcha green tea latte, a caramel apple lollipop, and more dried mango than I should’ve had. 

- finally we boarded the plane, and I sat next to two of the csssa students I had been talking to. the flight was quick and easy, and I listened to music the whole way through. once the plane landed, we all walked to baggage claim together. I lowkey chased my suitcase around the conveyer belt before finally getting it off. after that, I waited for a while for my parents to arrive. 

- car ride home was nice. I do really love my family, and it was so good to see them again after a month. I regaled them with all sorts of stories, although it’s impossible to sum up an experiences such as csssa. even though i’m a creative writing student, there are no words.

- dinner = Chinese food!! yassss I've missed thissss

- I've just been chilling - I tried on the clothes that i’d bought online before csssa started, watched some youtube, scrolled through social media, talked to my brother. i’ll admit, being in the comfort of my own home is pretty nice.

that’s it. csssa 2017 is over. I still can’t really believe it. this month has no doubt been one of the best of my life. I've made friends faster and deeper that ever before. I've grown as a writer and a human being. I've learned and challenged and experienced. i’ll forever be grateful to this program. that’s a wrap from my “daily“ blog entries, but please do feel free to ask me any questions! i’d be happy to answer them, even if I will no longer be updating this tumblr. thanks to all those who have read and stuck with me. <3

[awriteratcsssa]

Day 27 - 10:40 pm

I can’t believe today is the last day. I’m listening to “More Than a Band” right now and I’m emo (emo nemo).

- our toilet is clogged. why.

- bfast: pancakes, potatoes, fruit

I went back to dorms for a moment bc I forgot to bring my anthology.

- core: last day of core, last day of workshop. honestly, it felt like every other day. we worked through all of the pieces, and knowing it was the last day, I tried to stay as engaged as I could. and then we said goodbye. it wasn’t as bad for me bc I knew I would be back in the classroom after lunch. I've always been closer with my focus than with core, but it’s still sad to break away from a group of ppl you’ve spent 4 weeks reading and writing with.

- lunch: soup, salad, cookie

- I spent recess just enjoying the company of my focus class. one of my (and everyone else’s) favorite ppl in class wasn’t signed up when she was supposed to be, so we called her. our teacher got on and told her she was in trouble, and we could hear her start to run. it was really funny. then she came in with gift bags for everyone and it was the sweetest thing ever. there were all sorts of sweets and snacks inside (airheads, lychee jelly, ring pops). I also got everyone to sign my anthology, including adrianna. it’s like a makeshift yearbook of sorts, and it really does feel like we’ve all been together for a year.

- focus: last class of csssa. we had 3 pieces to work through, and we definitely were a little distracted with our goodies and just the whole atmosphere. we had even more meme comments than usual, and it was all good fun. the pieces were all really good, and it was a great note to end workshop on. after workshop, we did two reflection activities. for one, we had to write a letter to adrianna outlining our thoughts about the class and csssa creative writing as a whole. then, we filled out 2 notecards - one to give to adrianna, one to keep for ourselves as a post-csssa reminder. adrianna said a lot of nice things and it was all very sweet and sad and too much. once we were all finished, we took a class photo. adrianna told us we were free to go 30 min early, but no one wanted to. we all stayed back and talked in small groups. somehow the conversation turned to college and all of the seniors started stress talking but adrianna was very reassuring and then it was dinner time and we said goodbye. I didn’t cry or anything, but it was definitely bittersweet.

- dinner: mushroom stir-fry w/ noodles, churro, bagel (w/ peanut butter and jelly)

- film screening! we went about an hour after it started and left an hour before it ended, but we still got to see a fair number of student films. i’m so impressed by how professional the films looked considering the time and resources. there were some really funny ones and others hit deep. the talent at csssa is truly unreal. I only wish there was more collaboration between departments!

- dance showcase! two of us left the film screening to go watch the dance performances. I loove to watch dance (I dance myself), and this was such a treat. there was an assortment of ballet, modern, and student choreographed pieces. once again, I was floored by everyone’s talent. the choreography of the students was so mature and nuanced, and the performances were all gorgeous and intricate. I was definitely shooketh.

- back to dorms to pack. I got a fair amount packed, took an early shower, and then headed over to my friend’s dorm. it’s the last night, after all. for some reason, we (there were three of us) all looked at each other’s houses and schools on google earth. then we just talked and looked at things and generally enjoyed each other’s company. at around 10, we figured we should probably meet up with some of the others. we called the group chat, and two more of our friends came down to the room. the other two started to sing the suburbs by arcade fire and somehow we all started crying and it was a cry and hug fest. I think it was just starting to hit us all that this is it. we had to all say goodbye pretty quick bc of curfew.

- I brushed my teeth and hit the bed to write this blog post. I really can’t process the fact that csssa is over and i’ll be home in less than 24 hours, so I won’t. one more day.

[awriteratcsssa]

Day 26 - 11:03 pm

In bed now and second entry of the day.

- too lazy to wake up for 8 am bfast, so our squad was broken today. my roommate and i went down to the caf at 8:30, and other ppl filtered in as bfast went on

- bfast: french toast (first time ever actually! not bad, I put this strawberry sauce on top), hash browns, fruit

- I joined two other friends in coming back to dorm while belting songs such as “Don’t Ya Wish U Were Us” from Lemonade Mouth (a cult classic.) 

- instead of class, we instead gathered as a department to compile our anthologies, get them signed, complete a questionnaire for csssa, and write a reflection on our time here. I really enjoyed creating my anthology, and we got to design our own cover. I screwed up a couple times with mine, but I think it adds character (and it is a physical representation of the inner workings of my brain when I am writing). 

- lunch: kung pao chicken, rice, egg roll

we passed around our anthologies at this time and got everyone to sign. it’s like the end of school with a yearbook, and everyone was kind of emotional. two of my friends had their own letter exchange and basically started crying in the middle of lunch, and feelings.

- more of the above lunch activities. after I finished all of my obligations, I ended up braiding three of my friends’ hair (two french and one dutch - first time for both!), which was really, really fun. I tried to work for a bit but didn’t really get much done. I just want to spend as much time as possible with these ppl in the last few days.

- after, we joined one of our friends who got a streak test in her hair. I braided another friend’s hair too lol. then we got too hot so we went to my dorm and chilled out on the bed. 

- dinner: buffalo chicken tenders, fries, veggies, angel cake

- movie time! a group of us gathered in one room to watch wongfu’s Everything Before Us, which was cheesy but wonderful. what can I say, i’m a sucker for romantic dramas. we had more time so we decided to watch more. we put on Moonrise Kingdom, then changed it to Train to Busan, a Korean zombie horror/thriller. about half an hour in, though, one of my friends started crying at the gore of one part, so we stopped watching it and surrounded her with love. we switched back to Moonrise Kingdom, which was highly enjoyable. there were a lot of interesting features in the film and I thought it was a clever and quirky and wonderful.

- back at dorm, I started to pack :( I can’t believe tomorrow’s my last full day. i’m not ready to go home and back to school. csssa really has been one of the best experiences of my life.

[awriteratcsssa]

Day 25 - 10:13 pm

I meant to write this yesterday... (also how the f is it august)

- bfast: blueberry pancakes, tator tots, fruit

I finished “editing” (skimming) over my nonfic piece and was still not able/willing to cut. so with 10 minutes left before class I printed my piece that was almost 500 words over word count.

- core - workshop day 1. I really like reading memoir pieces, and bc the prompt  was so broad, there was a wide range of stories that people shared. I was picked to go, and I tried to read through mine as quickly as possible. as always, I appreciated the feedback. I do have to admit - sitting through 3 hours knowing that the next class is another 3 hours of workshop gets a little tiring and it’s easy to zone out.

- lunch: chicken+tofu teriyaki, rice, veggies

- recess: for once, I had no assignments to work on! (i’m done with hw at csssa ???) instead, I watched a gymnastics competition on youtube and lived my life.

- focus: workshop day 2. I will say that the piece we started with shook me to my core and i’m always taken aback by the life experiences of the people around me. though it’s a slow process, I like that we’re able to go more in depth with these longer pieces and spend more time with each person. we still aren’t done, so we’re going to need a 3rd day of workshop. 

I can’t f***ing believe that there’s only one day left of class. this is not ok.

- dinner: roast turkey, green beans, brownie

- we hung out in my room for a little bit and we played music. chill time is always nice. at 7, two of us went to go see the voice performance. I love listening to people sing and there was a wide variety of genres represented in the program, from opera to musical theater to pop hits. there were a couple songs I added to my personal playlist and everyone was incredibly talented. these showcases from other disciplines are honestly one of the best parts of csssa for me.

- back at dorm, I spent some time chatting with my brother and in a group chat for a school club. I called my parents to let them know how I was doing, took a shower, and watched an episode of TV. my ideal night in, tbh.

i’m off for a shower, and then i’ll write today’s entry!

[awriteratcsssa]

Day 24 - 6:27 pm

Missed another day because I’m so good at life.

- bfast: potatoes, fruit, dry cereal bc they ran out of milk

- core: first day of nonfiction core class = 6 hours in the same classroom

we started with some introductions, learned a little about the genre, and read an excerpt of a memoir called I Remember. we were then given one hour to write 25 of our own I remember statements, which was actually pretty interesting. I chose to do it kind of chronologically, listing my most memorable images of every year of my life. bc this week is shorter (no class on Friday bc we go home *cries*), we have only one day to write our workshop pieces. so we went over story structure and were given some time to outline and start our memoirs.

- hw: 750 word memoir

- lunch: salad, brownie

- recess: working on the memoir. despite being in the nonfic focus, writing personal stories is still hard. writing in general is hard.

- focus: workshop day 1. bc these pieces are longer (1000-1200 words), we spend more time with each one. I got to workshop mine, and I definitely got some good critiques. overall, I really enjoyed listening to everyone’s pieces, and I really like the lyric essay genre. 

- dinner: orange tofu and jasmine rice, soup (for some reason i decided to be vegetarian all day?)

- back to dorms to work on memoir piece. at 7:30, I left to go see the final Bits and Pieces, the weekly theater showcase. I've been to all 3 and loved all 3. the theater instructors are definitely tough and the exercises daunting, but each student is so committed and open. I especially loved the musical theater section and the last improve scene. I have such admiration for the theatre department!

- write, write, write. i ended up writing wayyy over word count (>1100) but it was also 12:15 so I was in no mood to edit or cut. sorry core class.

[awriteratcsssa]

Day 23 - 10:54 pm

- lazy morning for me and pretty much everyone else. pushed 8 am breakfast squad to 9 am, bc none of us were even awake at 8. 

- bfast: hash browns, fruit

- I headed back to dorms to get some work done. even though I started off by watching youtube, I was actually pretty productive in the morning. a little ways in one of my friends popped in and worked under my roommate’s bed. she and i were the only ones out of our group that weren’t going to the getty field trip. quiet writing solidarity is the best. before lunch, I had about 900 of the 1000 word minimum done, so I was doing pretty well.

- lunch: tofu and turkey nachos! technically not nachos bc no cheese, which was a discussion I had with said friend. so I guess I had chips with toppings?

- laundry time! once again, the laundry room was relatively empty, so I had no trouble finding open washers and dryers. I set a timer this time so that I could head back to my dorm instead of wait in the laundry room. by the time laundry was done, I was totally done with my nonfic piece. yay!

- I don’t really even know what I spent the rest of the time doing. I surfed the internet, talked to some friends, wrote a blog post. at around 4 my friend left to take a nap. we met up again at 5:30.

- dinner: baked potato w/ vegetarian chili 

we got to meet up with all of our field trip friends! seems like they had a good time.

- I took a shower back at dorms with conditioner bc the ends of my hair were so dry. I decided to just put on my pjs bc why not. I headed over to my friend’s room, where three of us hung out before the movie screening at the bijou.

- the movie showing was What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, a psychological thriller/horror film from 1962. before the movie began, we got some background of the tumultuous relationship between the two stars of the film, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. we even got to see an exclusive press clip that was filmed by a CalArts student who had snuck into the Oscars. then the movie began. it was one hell of a ride, and the screams and groans of the audience only added to the atmosphere. i’m not typically one for horror films, but i’m so glad I went to see this one.

- we stopped by the computer lab, but it wasn’t open (even though it was 9:30 and the lab is supposed to be open ‘til 10.) then we returned to my friend’s dorm, where I cut my fingernails and she put rollers in her hair. after, we made a stop at the vending machines and another friend’s room, who is stocked with matcha snacks. I stayed with new friend for a little. she was (probably still is) going slightly crazy with Asian food cravings and binge watching YouTube food videos. how relatable.

- headed back to my dorm with 10 minutes until hall curfew. since, I really haven’t done much. tmrw starts the last week of classes, and I am so, so not ready. but alack, we must go forward.

[awriteratcsssa]

Day 22 - 4:36 pm

I meant to write this this morning, but whoops. Let’s see how much I remember of yesterday.

- bfast: potatoes, biscuit, fruit

- the last writers salon! sitting and listening for 2 hours isn’t necessarily the most engaging thing, but the talent is truly unreal.

- lunch: salad. there was a hotdog truck outside, along with waterslides on the field, but we weren’t in the mood.

- ice cream excursion! we walked to baskin robins, which I don’t think I've ever actually been to. I got a scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, which was very yummy. afterwards, three of us went to the beauty store while the others went to staples. after a long period of indecision, I finally committed to redying my hair a midnight blue. (sorry hair!)

- we then went to a series of stores - vons (which is basically socal’s safeway), staples, party city. it was way too hot to be walking so much (I think 97+ degrees?) and we all died. 

- we got back at around 4 and got ready to dye our hair! the whole process went pretty smoothly. I felt really bad bleaching my hair twice in two weeks, but oh well. I actually liked the way my hair looked with a sort of blonde ombré, but I definitely wanted a more unnatural color. I washed my hair with conditioner to try and combat the damage done. after my hair dried, my friend applied the color. while waiting for the color to dry, we went to the caf.

- dinner: roast beef, mash, veggies, cookie

- I waited a little while longer before washing my hair out. it originally looked so dark, it was practically black. but when I got a better look at it, I really, really liked it. i’m glad I redyed it, even if my ends are a little bit fried (whoops)

- expose night! this has become a tradition where we get together on Saturday night and play cards against humanity, truth or dare, never have I ever, and just generally talk about things we don’t usually talk about. we’ve all bonded so much, and it’s scary to think that in a week, we might never all be together again.

- after spending another day not writing, I took a little time at night working on my nonfic piece. I ended up staying up pretty late (around 12:30).

[awriteratcsssa]

Day 21 - 10:58 pm

- bfast: whole wheat pancake, potato wedges, fruit

- core: more poetry workshopping! what I said yesterday still applies so i’m gonna move on bc i’m lazy. today was the last day of poetry, and even though it was the class I was most dreading, it turned out alright in the end :)

- lunch: grilled chicken w/ marinara sauce, spinach, garlic bread, tomato soup

- no recess, except we (two friends and I) had a brief 20 minute period in class with just Adrianna. we spent the majority of that time discussing tic tac flavors, as one does.

- focus was kind of different today. everyone signed up for 8 minute one-on-one consultations w/ Adrianna about our lyric essays. I already had a decent idea of what mine was going to be, and she just asked some questions and gave some suggestions. I spent the rest of class trying to work on it, but I didn’t get very far. looks like i’ll have a fair bit of work over the weekend.

- guest artist: douglas kearney. this was by far my favorite guest that we’ve had for creative writing. he was lit af. he literally started with a performance poem that was delivered with the formation mv playing in the background. his poems play a lot with visuals and sounds and it was just f***ing cool. and he’s super interesting and insightful and woke and it all just made me really happy. it was pretty epic.

- I got to see the last bit of the interdisciplinary showcase! the writing, theater, and music departments teamed up to create 3 short plays around the theme of superheroes and resilience. two of my friends were involved, but I only really got to see 1 of the 3, which neither of them had helped make. it was really cool to see how much these artists were able to create in such a short span. the piece I watched tackled domestic violence, and I really, really enjoyed watching it.

- dinner: fish and chips! also a small salad to pretend i’m healthy.

- back to dorms. slowly more and more ppl started to trickle into my dorm room until there were like 7 or 8 of us, all doing different things (watching game of thrones, facetiming, watching youtube, etc). I headed off with two others to go watch lemonade mouth, which is unquestionably the best Disney Channel original movie of all time and one of the best movies ever, period. clearly. it was just as awesome as I remember it being and we absolutely sang to all the songs. also now one of my friends is writing a canon divergence fanfic where mo and charlie get together so.

- pretty much it! idk what imma do for the rest of the night - I might take a shower, might not. I might go to bed early, I might not. who knows.

[awriteratcsssa]

Day 20 - 11:27 pm

So yeah, I stayed up ‘til 12:15 ish last night... not too bad, all things considered.

- bfast (usual squad wasn’t around, some ppl were trying to print, but the lab still wasn’t working): wedges, sausage, fruit, cereal

- core: epic workshop! because most ppl came in with pretty complete rough drafts on Tuesday, I was already familiar with most of the poems. some stayed very similar, others were edited extensively. seeing what ppl did with feedback offered some insight into each person’s style and editing process.

Hillary called on me to go 5th (after the previous 4 had all volunteered), and i’ll admit I was taken aback. the reading went pretty well, and i’m actually pretty proud of it considering I've never written anything poetic even remotely as long or detailed.

- lunch: salad (w/ lettuce, quinoa, tofu, vinaigrette) and soup (lentil+veggie) - so healthy

- recess today was a never-ending stream of laughter. one girl in my class is simultaneously the most and least expressive person I have ever met and I want her face to be the model for a new set of emojis. strange music videos, impromptu dance demonstrations, and other overall shenanigans went down. i’m pretty sure Adrianna was wondering what the hell was wrong with us all.

- focus: workshop! everyone’s birth story was actually really fun to read. a lot of ppl took the funny route, and there was a whole range of styles and formats, from verse to transcribed interview to series of drafts. mine was written pretty late at night, and it was eh, ok.

hw: get ready with a pitch for the lyrical essay! *cry*

- dinner: baked chicken, mash, roasted veggies, cookie

- hangout at friend’s room! we’ve all grown so close to one another in such a short amount of time. it seems like we expose ourselves more and more with each passing day.

- there was a special dance demonstration! a professional company came and performed a series of pieces, mostly of ballet and modern roots. I absolutely loved it all - the choreography, music, dancers. as a recreational dancer myself, it made me want to get back to stretching.

- apparently, Langley hall (the poetry classroom) was used to host some csssa foundation sponsors. there was leftover food, so the organizers invited some cw kids in the adjacent printing lab to eat. I went with two friends, and there was literally a spread on the table - veggie dip, potstickers, chicken+pineapple kebabs, coconut shrimp. the food was honestly better than the cafeteria, and I was living. we ended up spending like an hour there, passing the time with cartwheels and other dance moves, melodrama (the lorde album), and text conversations.

- back at dorms, I came up with a quick idea for the lyrical essay. we’ll see how it goes over with Adrianna!

[awriteratcsssa]

Day 19 - 9:29 pm

don’t let the timestamp fool you. it’s gonna be a late night.

- bfast: hash browns, blueberry pancakes, fruit

- w/ workshop starting at 10, we had a little over an hour between breakfast and class. we headed to tatum, and I managed to finish one stanza in that time. this epic is killing me and I write like a snail.

- change of plans - no guest because she was called away for work. instead, we spent the morning session deliberating on the details for our anthology. this year, instead of having one printed for us, we’re going to make the collection ourselves. everyone has to submit one piece for the anthology, and we’ll all get a copy to take home. there was quite some deliberation going on and not a little bit of confusion. in the end, we came to a consensus on the sorting of works within the book, the procedure of submission, and other minutia.

- lunch: Chinese food !!! beef and broccoli/tofu stir fry, white rice, rice krispie

- second part of day was essentially free time. I used all three hours to write and managed to finish my 15-stanza “epic.” it’s by far the longest poem I've ever written, and probably took in the ballpark of 10 hours. it was a journey, all right.

- after “class” ended, we had one hour until dinner started. a group of us went to tatum again, where we had some heart to hearts where shit got deep. it’s kind of insane how close people get here, in less than three weeks. I also used the hour to revise my last stanza. it’s done. i’m done.

- dinner: chicken and rice tacos, some rice thing I got in the salad bar?

- I went back to dorm to write more. because like 5 hours of writing is obviously not enough. I took an early shower again (maybe it’s the start of a habit...) at around 6:45, I went over to the printing lab so I could print 19 copies of my epic, but the printers weren’t working. yayyyy

- so back to dorms and I've been writing (trying to write) ever since. why am I so slow at this. also I am totally not writing this entry to procrastinate...

[awriteratcsssa]

Day 18 - 8:44 am

let’s get this done, shall we?

- bfast: cinnamon roll, potatoes, fruit

- core: we went around the room and shared our epic rough drafts. everyone’s interpretation of the prompt was so different, and the topics and forms varied a lot. as someone who doesn't really do poetry, I didn't really offer much feedback. mine wasn’t yet complete, so I opted not to go (we ran out of time).

hw: finish epic

- lunch: mushrooms, curly fries

- recess: I literally spent the hour writing a single stanza. i’m great at poetry.

- focus: we shared summaries of our research and our 500 word narratives, all of which were so interesting to listen to. it showed me that there really is a lot that happens each and every day, somewhere in the world. we then brought out our four objects and placed them on the table. we did two rounds where we grabbed someone else’s object and journaled about it, answering a number of questions about the object. I chose a planner and a packet of braces rubber bands. it was fun to try and analyze why these objects were important to the owner and what they showed about her. we then had to write about our first memory of one of our own objects.

hw: write the 750 word story of your birth (interview mom and dad!)

- dinner: roasted chicken, rice pilaf, veggies

- back to dorms. I took a shower right after dinner so my hair could dry naturally. I interviewed my mom and dad, which was actually kind of a fun experience, although they didn’t actually give me that many details. I'll definitely have to work with it, so we shall see how it goes.

- two friends and I went to go see an interdisciplinary performance. it was genuinely incredible - using front and rear projections, the performer was able to insert her silhouette into her animations live. the precision and care that went into the project is unimaginable. it was such an interesting mix of disciplines, and I really, really enjoyed it.

- writing, writing, writing. I finished 2/3 of my epic but didn’t feel like starting my birth story piece.

- I braided my hair and went to bed. before going to sleep, I begrudgingly filled out the day before’s log.

and i’m back on track. yay.

[awriteratcsssa]

Day 17 - 11:37 pm

when it’s almost midnight and you’re writing yesterday’s post...

- bfast: tater tots, fruit, granola

- core: the dreaded poetry arrives. today wasn’t actually at all bad - we all had to write a self-portrait poem. after reading some examples and getting some optional prompts, we were given half an hour to work. I went with the idea of “if I was a dance step, I would be...” and I went with a chaîné. i’m not really a poetry gal, but given the time restraint I think I did a decent job. plus, when we went around the room, I got some nice feedback, which is always so valuable. I also realized today that 1/3 of my class is in the poetry focus, so that’s not at all intimidating...

hw: write the draft of an epic (ha ha...)

- lunch: sloppy joes, fries

- recess: I bought a calarts hat! it’s all jean and I actually really like it. i’m not usually a hat person, but maybe that’s because I literally don’t own any. I spent the rest of the hour brainstorming for my epic and getting started.

- focus: this week (and part of my next) we’re focusing on the lyric essay! it sounds really interesting - it’s basically a piece composed of different little sections that are tied together with a common thread. we’re utilizing the articles we chose for our weekend hw. we read an example - For the Time Being by Annie Dillard - which was a very interesting piece. we then went over some of the typical conventions and defining features of the subgenre of lyric essay. finally, we broke down our own articles of research, summarizing it with a mix of objective and subjective/imagery-based details. it was an interesting exercise that I found to be a little challenging. 

hw: convert one article into a 500-word scene; bring 4 items of personal importance to class

- dinner: spaghetti Bolognese, roasted veggies

- during dinner, i heard about a pretty serious conflict in the fiction focus class over an inappropriate joke. it’s unfortunate and uncomfortable and it isn’t the first time the cw department has had some sort of issue.

- after dinner, I headed back to dorms to work. I got about three stanzas of my poem done when I decided I wanted to go to watch the weekly theatre performance, bits and pieces. so I did. it was just as entertaining as the week before, featuring a wall-sitting musical performance, a hilarious sketch involving language barriers, a somewhat awkward dissection of sexual tension, and interesting contact improv work. theatre teachers seem a lot tougher than cw... 

- back to writing! I wrote another stanza for the epic and called it a day. then I got to work on my nonfic piece, only my roommates wanted to sleep early, so the lights were off at around 11:15. I spent half an hour working in the dark, eyes bleary, and got 600+ words of a story that was maybe halfway decent. I was tired and my eyes hurt, so I went to bed.

it is late and I need sleep so hopefully there will be two posts tmrw!

[awriteratcsssa]

Day 16 - 9:37 pm

Lazy days are the best days.

- I actually woke up at like 7:30, but I stayed in bed until 8:30 bc why not? i’m the only one in my room who’s not going to Disney, so I got the room to myself for a bit.

- once I did get up, I continued research for my hw, and it was actually really interesting. I ended up starting a documentary about osama bin laden but decided not to commit to the hour and a half.

- brunch! steak fries, sausage, watermelon, cookie

- laundry time! pretty boring stuff. I did end up buying some lifesavers to get a quarter. it was so much faster this time around since so many ppl are at Disney. I just chilled on my laptop for the hour and a half it took.

- with nothing much to do, I decided to put on a movie! it took me a while to decide on one, but I ended up going with Lion. I really, really enjoyed it (and yes, it did make me cry). it’s truly a phenomenal film with great acting and a beautiful (true) story.

- dinner: roast beef, mash, roasted veggies, french roll

- printed my research at the lab. 15 sources uses a lot of paper...

- I again found myself with nothing planned, so naturally I watched another movie. bc i’m basic and lazy, ik. I watched silver linings playbook, which I also liked a lot. it’s a compelling look at mental illness, with strong but flawed characters and difficult relationships. 

- I sorted my laundry and took an early shower so I could just hang out in bed with my pjs.

- after I started writing this, some friends came over. apparently one of them almost died from an allergic reaction, so seems like I definitely missed something...

that’s about it from me! next up - tackling poetry. (internal screaming)

[awriteratcsssa]

Day 15 - 10:58 pm

- bfast: potatoes, sausage, fruit, cereal

- printing room adventures - a lot of us cw kids hung out at the printing lab before salon to gather everything. convos in this room always turn out interesting...

- writer’s salon! the pieces today were all engaging, whether they were poignant or utterly hilarious. i’m glad I get to see the work of ppl who aren’t in either of my classes!

- lunch: margarita pizza, salad, oatmeal raisin cookie

- I got my hair dyed!! I had to go through 2 rounds of bleach since the first time didn’t get all of the hair I wanted. I mixed together a gray dye and a blue dye, and for some reason it turned blue-green on my hair? either way, I do like it. a lot of ppl ended up dying their hair today, which was interesting. we hung out by the pool, and we had live music, tv (breaking bad pilot), snacks, and other fun. 

- dinner (in dorms): veggie and tofu stir fry, egg rolls, fries

- we watched part of spirited away, which I'd actually never seen before. the video stopped loading, so we switched to more meme videos that somehow turned to nature videos.

- more friends and cards against humanity! always so much fun. I did pretty well w/ 9 cards which tied for second, although that may not be something to be proud of...

- after we got tired of cards, we started truth or dare! another classic game that is always eventful, and it did not disappoint. we also played a round of never have i ever, before reverting back to truth or dare, and then we asked interesting questions and went around in a circle. i was laughing all night long, and it was truly “ wild” (as my friend said. ) what happens in the room stays in the room though, so no more deets from me!

- now just chilling in my bed! most ppl are going to Disney tmrw, so i’ll get a quiet day of laundry, writing, and lounging about. can’t wait :) 

[awriteratcsssa]

Day 14 - 11:31 pm

Really should’ve started this earlier since I haven’t done anything for like four hours...

- bfast: muffin, fruit, granola (is this the first day I haven’t gotten potatoes??)

- core = workshop day 2! after getting through everyone’s pieces, Jackie talked to us about the process of publishing, from finding lit mags to querying agents. although i’m not planning on publishing anytime soon, it’s definitely cool info to keep in the back of my mind. i’ll miss fiction.

- lunch: baked potato w/ turkey chili, white bean and tomato soup, chocolate rice krispie

- no recess today. focus = workshop day 2 as well. I was the first to go today, and I wasn’t a huge fan of my piece. it went over decently, and I got some interesting critiques. reading everyone’s pieces was so enjoyable, and it’s also surprising to see the stories of people my age doing things I've never thought about. lots of laughs all around.

- interesting hw assignment: research the date of your birth and find 5-10 articles about what happened. i’d say I have a pretty interesting birthdate, so it should be cool to look into it more deeply.

- guest artists today were Brian Evenson and Kristen Tracey! they are both successful published authors who teach as well, and they talked to us about all aspects of their writing lives and experiences. it’s always so amazing when you can listen to people who love their work and have found success in it, especially in the creative fields.

- dinner: fish+chicken tacos, rice, banana bread

- me and two others went to buy bleach and hair dye!! I got Argan Oil Perfect Intensity Chrome, and I’m planning to mix it with some blue dye that one of my friends has with him. the plan is to dye our hair tomorrow, and i’m so frickin excited !!!

- I just chilled in my room after we got back. I got started on the research hw, surfed the internet, called my parents, called my friend in French (hw assignment), and basically had a lazy Friday night in. 

here’s to another week gone by! I can’t believe i’m halfway done w/ classes already o.O

[awriteratcsssa]

Day 13 - 11:20 pm

to the sweet anon earlier - today was indeed a better day :)

- bfast: hash browns, fruit, cereal (fruit loops)

- core = workshop! I was very impressed with all of the pieces, as I always am here at csssa. sure, not everyone’s fit my personal style, but there were remarkable aspects to every single work. it’s simultaneously intimidating and inspiring. the piece I brought to workshop stemmed from a concept I came up with a while ago that never came to fruition. I got a lot of good feedback from peers and from Jackie. i’m still pondering whether I should expand the piece or leave it as is.

- lunch: pasta primavera, chicken, mushroom noodle soup, cookie

- during recess, I edited my piece a bit, then scoured youtube for a while. (i’m definitely planning on getting into in the heights, after I heard breathe at the theater show a couple days ago.)

- focus = workshop also! our focus (ha) this week was humorous writing, and I was not disappointed. some pieces were funny in a tragic and disturbing way, others just purely, outrageously hilarious. I didn’t read today, so i’ll have to go tmrw. i‘m not a huge fan of it, but we’ll see how it goes.

- dinner: burger, fries, veggies

- I headed back to dorms, where I watched an episode of tv and a couple youtube videos. then I went to tatum, where I knew a couple of my friends were. I ordered an iced matcha latte (yum!) and talked (read: listened) for a while. 

- the film department’s work in progress screening was today! it was awesome to see what other kids have been working on and to witness the talent of those sitting in the adjacent table at lunch. some were funny, others poignant, still others experimental and bizarre. one complaint: a group of people crowded around me and my friends as the show progressed. literally a guy was splayed out an inch away from me. why.

- back to dorms and hung out a little to watch meme videos. so many meme videos in the past few days. tonight included an interesting senior choir, sex offenders shuffle, and misspelled yahoo asks. true entertainment.

- a night without hw is so, so nice. 

heads up! most likely getting hair dye and bleach tmrw, planning to do it Saturday with the help of some friends. AH!

[awriteratcsssa]

hey i hope u have a better day tomorrow! (also thanks for all of the updates im planning on applying next year for cw and im currently living off of everyone else's experiences this year lmao) xoxo

aw thank you! that’s so sweet <3 I definitely think it’s a one-time thing, I really am loving my experience here. good luck with your app next year!