77 Days

Due to the obnoxious time difference between the US and the UK it's been a bit difficult talking with the school. Fortunately they saw this coming and prepared something special for their US students. 

A few days ago there was a chat that took place at 8am PST where Kingston invited all of us coming from America to ask questions with representatives from the department. It gave us time to ask our Financial, social, and housing questions as well as any we had for specific teachers. 

I met a lot of different creative folks while getting all of my burning questions answered with the two hour period. As it turned out, one of the professors answering questions was the Principal Lecturer for Creative Writing.

Nuts, right!? 

So I was asking her anything I could think of and soon the chat was over. But she gave me her personal email address so I can draft a personal email to her about the program as a whole. 

Really exciting stuff. 

It was good to able to immerse myself in learning more about Kingston while at the same time being able to glimpse a bit of the information that is sure to swamp me when I go in for Orientation the day after I arrive. Yeah, I don't even get time to relax and get over being jet lagged. I wonder if they'll mind me conked out and snoring while in the queue (see, I feel more British already!).

In other news, I've been spending more time with my babies.

I wish I could take my little obnoxious buttfaces with me, but I don't think my flatmates would appreciate yapping terriers begging for scraps every second of the day. I'm really going to miss them, though. I'm like the mama bear that takes care of them. I keep their food full and play soccer with them. I wash them. 

And I love them with all of my squishy heart. 

It's going to be hard being away from them for so long, but my family will take care of them.

Also, I have yet to tell my nieces that I'm leaving. They are under the impression that I live here and I've moved for good. If they thought me living "in the mountains" was far then they are going to be in for a shock. I have been showing them some random pictures of the UK so I can explain exactly where I'm going when I do tell them. 

A part of me wants to be positively sure that I'm leaving first (not even the devil could stop me, honestly) and part of me just doesn't want to see their faces when it sinks in that I'm leaving again and they'll not see me for a while. 

We're also having a going away party/ 4th of July bash with my entire family. Yes, almost all of my family will be in one room. This hasn't happened in over a decade. Shit is gonna get crazy. As much as I'd love to include an invite to my friends there is no way I'd want them to hang out with my family. 

If they think I'm loud they don't know the definition of the word... 

More to come soon, friends!

Funding Woes

This blog is going to be a bit different than the last two.

Since I've been accepted I've been on the hunt for scholarships and grants, but have yet to receive any. Time is starting to dwindle down and I'm still actively on the hunt.

But even with a hefty savings and loans from the Department of Ed I'm still running a bit short on cash. [it doesn't help that the the current exchange rate between dollars and pounds means that every dollar is only 66 pence (cents)].

So I came up with a brilliant idea and I need your help! Below you'll find a GoGetFunding*** for my trip.

If you can afford to donate to me I would really appreciate it.

I do have some clever rewards for those that are helping!

Anything helps! I really do mean that!

http://gogetfunding.com/project/fund-amanda-s-ma-in-creative-writing-in-london


Thanks :) So much.

*** The GoGetFunding is now closed. Donations are still being accepted via paypal at the email address amanda.mj.mcwhorter@gmail.com***

A Leap Is All It Takes

One of the first things that I hear from people when I tell them about my plans for Grad School is "wow, that's so far away, are you scared?"

I'm nervous, yes. Anyone flying halfway around the world to be in a new place would be nervous, but I've been there before.

When I graduated high school I chose a school almost a hundred miles away from Long Beach. I didn't have a car and I didn't know a soul. Not one person. I was 17 and scared out of my mind, but I succeeded, some would say I overdid it.

Four years later I couldn't walk around campus without stopping and saying HI to several people and having an animated conversation, much to the chagrin of anyone who walked with me anywhere (sorry friends!).

I would even leave for class fifteen or twenty minutes early so I wouldn't have to rush through conversations with friends. Even then I would still be late for class on occasion (sorry professors!).

College is a phase of life, and so is high school. It was hard to leave those both behind but we have to remember: life is full of people entering and exiting. 

Very rarely does someone stick to you through it all. Everyone has their own lives to lead.

I think the hardest part about moving to a new phase of life is accepting that. Accepting that people change, their priorities change, and that you change.

It's scary.

Really. Fucking. Scary. But it's the truth.

But, another truth for you: Do not let that fear hold you back. 

What I'm saying is all it takes is one leap of faith.

Don't ever say you can't do something or get frustrated when something isn't working out exactly the way that you've planned.

It's up to you to change your circumstances in life. Successful people take chances and risks to hit the top.

Nothing is going to ever be perfect. Perfection is only in movies (and those movies are never the really great ones).

And you know what is also hard to accept: being wrong. You're going to be wrong sometimes. You'll make mistakes and get bumped and bruised on the path of life but you have to keep moving forward.

If this all ends up being a mistake do you think I'm going to go cry in the corner and wallow in pity. Hell fucking no I will not. I'll brush the blood off my knees, stand up, and find a new and better path to go down.

Don't be afraid to conquer life. 

Make life afraid of your blinding determination.

101 Days To Go

Well, here I am. 

I decided that I need to chronicle my journey across the pond. But what good is writing from there without writing from home first? 

So for the next 3 months you'll be reading my desperate attempts to speed the clock up and see firsthand accounts of how extensive this process is. 

In order to fully immerse you in how this all came about we have to turn back the clocks a bit. 

My original plan for grad school was to get my MFA in Creative Writing from San Jose State University. I loved that they had a dual program between Screenwriting and Fiction. After applying to three different schools in 2012 I came up empty. Turns out these schools only really accept about 7 or 8 students each. In my limited research I had no clue the competition  was that intense!

So I came home. I had been living in Camarillo for 3 years by this point. I rarely ever came home so I figured it was good that I was back. Me being the balance for these crazy folks. I took a few classes at the local Community College (so I didn't have to begin paying back my loans) and focused on reading and writing whenever I could. 

Before I knew it I was applying again. My list had been started and it contained twelve schools, mostly state schools since they would be cheapest. I was now fully into research mode, both with the MFA Draft groups on Facebook and just reading school websites. 

I sent in my first application in December. That's when I realized it. The CSU system stopped giving application waivers to graduate school applications. I was floored. Funds had been dwindling after 6 months of being home. I couldn't afford to pay $60 per application so I dwindle by list down to the schools I really wanted to go to. 4 schools.

The night I emailed out my last application I was up and looking at the MFA Draft '13 page again. I saw that most people were applying to tons of schools and I got mad at myself for not being able to do more. That's when I realized some schools were international. After a quick, and I mean super quick, Google search I found a lot of great programs. When I clicked the application page I saw that the applications were free. FREE. So I picked out 4 schools and applied to some more. 

Acceptances floated in from Kingston University, a university 10 minutes outside of London that sits on the Thames, Seton Hill, a small private university in Pennsylvania, and Kent, a smallish university 2 hours outside of London in Canterbury. 

As cool as Seton was there was no way that I was going to pay the same amount there that I would in the UK. That left Kent and Kingston. After being warmly received by the staff at Kingston on facebook and via email I decided on them. It's a bigger school and it's only a 20 minute tube ride to get to London just in case, you know, I want to stalk them as they film Doctor Who or Sherlock (did you know they let fans be EXTRAS?).

So I chose Kingston and I've been preparing myself to go for the past 3 months. 

The plan, as of this moment, is to get my MA in Creative Writing. From there I can move to an MFA or straight into a PhD program. 

Hopefully I get one of the scholarships I applied for. Otherwise I'll be working my ass off while accomplishing all of this. 

So that's the story. 

Am I ready? 

The question should really be, are you? Cause this is gonna happen. And you'll be right beside me. :)

-Amanda MJ