I am applying for Mills College’ MFA program for creative writing (prose) starting in Fall 2019.  At Mills, I will have the opportunity to involve myself in an interdisciplinary environment, which is key to my learning style. I’m interested in pursuing a concentration that will help support my creative writing path, specifically in education. I want to inspire people, and remind them that their voice matters, their words can change lives. The best way for me to do that is through our education system. Through an assistantship at Mills, I want to figure out the best way to help folks with their writing.

I am graduating from the Evergreen State College with a Bachelors of Arts with an emphasis in creative writing, where I focused my last two years on creative nonfiction. I experimented with syntax, played around with my characters, showcased my writing, and tried out different specialties within the creative writing community until I crafted an individual style.

Mills’ creative writing program is right for me because I am a creative nonfiction writer who wants to use my words to change somebody’s life. I find memoirs to be relatable, eye-opening, and a safety net, and I want to give that same feeling to someone. With the guidance of the faculty members at Mills, and my dedication to my craft, I know I can turn my words into a publishable body of work.   
I’m especially interested in taking the courses Theories of Creativity and the Teaching of Creative Writing as well as Creative Writing Bootcamp. The idea of learning about creativity to teach creativity is amazing, and often overlooked. I want to first learn about what I’m teaching before I decide to teach it. I often have trouble forcing myself to write which is why I’m not just interested in the Creative Writing Bootcamp course, but believe it is necessary and will transform my writing process.

Since I started reading, I’ve had a passion for the written word. As a child, books were my main form of escape. I went to the library every Sunday with my mother and would pick out a book for each day of the week–a tradition I carried throughout high school. Characters became my best friends, and authors were their parents. I wanted them to like me; I wanted to be like them; I wanted to be them. Inspired by the words of creative nonfiction authors such as Lidia Yuknavitch, Augusten Burroughs, Melissa Broder, and Mary Karr, I decided to put pen to paper to find my voice. I transitioned from reader to writer, and back again. Authors became my teachers, and I wrote daily, wanting to make the authors that I fell in love with proud.

        I want to give that same feeling to a young kid in need of refuge. Someone that needs a little guidance, someone who can use my words to make a home. This led to me pouring my creative energy into writing about my upbringing while enrolled at Evergreen. Working closely with Sandy Yannone, the director of  Evergreen’s Writing Center where I tutored for two years, I began the process of writing a memoir, struggling through over twenty years of witnessing addictions, relationships, and money destroy a family. One of my biggest takeaways from this process is realizing that my words are important: I have the potential to tell a story that changes lives. My intention for graduate school is to focus on telling a story that alters my life, as well as influences others.