Oh, Those Ventures for Bloomington

Okay, I admit it. Creative Writing is not the biggest profession out there for students to choose during their college years; it’s not one of those career choices that is going to be offered on every campus in the United States. I realized that once I was on the IU South Bend campus, and it nearly tore me to pieces. I had every intention of completing one major after the next on the same campus and end up adding Creative Writing to my teaching license along with English. Well, it turns out that those weren’t the cards I was dealt. Yes, I will have a Bachelor’s in Secondary English teaching. Yes, I will have completed a minor in Psychology. And yes, then I will go on to my two years of student teaching. However, after that block, I will have the options of continuing my Bachelor’s degree, continuing teaching (assuming that school wants to keep me, *nervous laugh*) or I can begin pursuing another degree.

Well, while doing research of Scott Russell Sanders for my final research paper last semester, I found not only that he was teaching at IU Bloomington (which makes me insanely happy, I have to meet the guy one of these days and talk his ear off! Haha), but Bloomington has a three year Creative Writing program. Okay, so I understand that that fact may not punch readers in the stomach the way it did me when I found out, but maybe when I add in the fact that the program is designed as a two-year Creative Writing program, flexible enough to be added to a teacher’s license, and the third year is to help the writers create their first book, then maybe readers will understand. This is absolutely HUGE for me, and I am praying with all my might every day that I can find a way to make it there in the next six years. Being economically limited I know that this is a lot to ask and dream for, but you know what? I want Creative Writing on my license; I want to be able to pass on that same gift that I was given when I decided to take three years of high school Creative Writing and Spectrum (Penn High School’s literary magazine) and became 100% permanently hooked on the craft.