Changes

On Friday, I have my final class and final meeting with my advisor. Not only the last class of the semester, but the last class of my MFA career. I can't reflect on it yet, because not only is it not quite over, my mind needs a little time to adjust.

As an undergrad, I took my most demanding semester last--kinda silly, now that I think about it, but it's the way things worked out. I took 15 hours of classes, all of which involved heavy writing and editing. One class alone took an average of 20 hours per week, if that gives you a sense of how busy I was. Also, I had two part-time jobs. I got through the semester unscathed, actually had a blast, although I was really tired. And then, there were all my final projects. I did them all, except for the last one. I had to write a long paper on 14th and 15th century Spanish plays and novels. All the reading and writing assignments were in Spanish (I had a double major: English and Spanish literature). I really enjoyed the class, but I was just so tired I couldn't write the paper. Mentally tired. I kept telling myself, "This is the last one. Just this ... last one." But I couldn't do it. I had to ask for an extension and as a result of that, got a B in the class, even though I'd had an A all semester.

I'm not quite as tired now. I have only one job (full time, but at least it's only one) and I've finished all my major assignments already. But there is so much change and potential change in the air that I just can't think about things too much. My mind can't really deal with it yet. So I'm reading a lot and watching really bad TV. (Example: last night I watched American Idol and then the reunion show of America's Next Top Model. But then we watched 21 Grams, so maybe I redeemed myself a little bit.)

I think I need a little mental vacation before I start tackling the novel full force in June. Next week, my family will be here for my graduation. The week after that, Nate's mother is coming for a visit. So we will have almost two weeks of family which, though I'm sure will be fun, will not be good for the writing. But maybe I need the time off anyway to adjust mentally to some things that are just starting to show themselves over the horizon.

One of those looming things is that I got accepted here. Another involves a possible relocation. I will divulge more as information becomes available. The wind is about to change.