We’re excited to announce that we have moved the CP&R student blog, Beyond the Elms, to the Scripps community of blogs. You can now find us here, alongside other Scripps organizations.

Add us to your RSS reader and follow our 7 (Yes, 7!) writers this semester.

See you soon,
CP&R

At Scripps, I have numerous obligations that pose barriers for maintaining a writing life. When there are papers due, emails to respond to, meetings/events to coordinate and attend, creative writing usually takes a back seat to more pressing demands. It is easy to let these obligations to serve as an excuse for not writing. It’s easy to put off writing until tomorrow. The draft of that story isn’t going anywhere.

Yet, I have come to realize that the Scripps environment is conducive to writing in so many ways. Here, I can take advantage of classes, events, and workshops among the wealth of resources available in Claremont. But more importantly, there are communities of writers at Scripps who are willing to share, compassionately critique, and motivate each other to produce great work.

At times, writing is incredibly difficult and giving up is too tempting. Maybe the protagonist is stagnant or meandering, maybe the plot is nonexistent, or the setting is all wrong for the characters’ state of mind. Pushing past that wall crushing the chapter that’s not going anywhere seems like an impossible task. I’ve tried to take concrete steps to write for an hour every day, even when inspiration doesn’t strike. Sometimes, going through the motions can lead to a breakthrough.

There will always be challenges to doing creative work, because creativity in our culture is seen as a luxury, and not a necessity. But as I write more often and more consistently, I begin to realize that writing, for me, is a form of self-care. I write because writing is a way for me to process my life. I write to give myself voice.

Outside of Scripps, there will be more challenges if I choose to work and leave this intimate residential community. But I know that I want to sustain a writing life. I’m thinking about pursuing a career in academia, and I would like to teach creative writing someday. Although that seems like a faraway dream, I am determined to nurture my creative outlets no matter what I choose to do after graduation.

How about you? What are your long term plans for sustaining a creative life?

We do agree on one thing, if I get a job in a field like fashion or art, I can probably get away with it. Although I won’t let shoes pick my job, they just might sway my looking. What do you think? Too crazy, or shows my personality?

I entered the audition hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.  Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to make it through all three rounds of the audition.  (The main criticism I was given was that I tended to “lead” my male partner during the dancing. What can I say? It’s the Scripssie within me, a true leader!).    I was overwhelmed with excitement when the talent agent offered me representation with her agency following the audition. My dancing dream is becoming a reality!

Which leads me to the heart of this post: do what you love.  I was very close to choosing a study abroad program in London over my semester-off to dance in New York City.  I felt pressured to study abroad because it was what most of my classmates were doing.  And while a semester in London would have been a truly incredible experience, I followed my gut.  Opportunities will come and go, and I feel that Scripps has prepared me to be confident in my decision, courageous in my plans, and hopeful for the future.  Things have a way of working out, if you put the work in!

1. I applied early. One night in October I couldn’t sleep and was randomly searching the internet. I came across a posting for summer interns and thought I would just send an inquiry email. It was a good thing I did! At that point they were already looking at resumes for the next summer.
2. I followed up. Not only did I send the first email, but I made sure to respond quickly with my resume, and follow up a week later to check in on the process. It showed that I was very interested and took initiative.
3. I did my research. Before my interview I did everything I could to get information on the company. I read their website, blogs and anything I could get my hands on that would tell me more. Knowing about the company you are about to walk into is a key part of preparation for your interview.
4. I dressed the part. When getting ready for my interview I dressed for the company. Since it is a wedding dress shop, and they wear professional attire, I wanted to mimic both of those things in my look. I made sure to look conservative enough, while still showing I was interested in fashion, and current trends.
5. I asked questions. During an interview it is important to remember you are not the only person being questioned. You want to make sure that you also believe that the internship would be a good fit for you. Asking questions also shows you are truly interested in what they have to offer you.
6. I followed up with a thank you note. It is important to note the time that the person took to interview you. Often it is someone very busy, and their time is very valuable. It also reaffirms that you are interested and just appreciate the consideration.

Although this is not an exact formula, and I can’t guarantee that you will get the internship, it all can only help you!

“They can smell your fear,” I told her as another deranged clown bypassed me to terrorize Laura once again.

After getting a good laugh out of Laura’s inability to function in a scary situation, my eyes bounced around the theme park as I absorbed the pure dread of everyone around me.  In the spirit of Halloween, my suitemates and I went to Universal Studios Hollywood for their Halloween Horror Nights theme. As horrifying monsters with chainsaws and bloody butchers roamed the streets of Universal seeking out their next victims, I watched with pure excitement. Their make-up, the costumes, but most importantly their commitment to instilling fear into every person that crossed their path re-sparked my love of theater and the entertainment industry.

While my acting days have been on hiatus since arriving to Scripps, I spent a lot of time up on the stage in high school. I love to perform and give people a show and so for a long time I thought that acting was the only component of the entertainment industry that I would be interested in pursuing. Interestingly enough, during my senior fall semester of high school, my college counselor noticed that my schedule looked a little too light for a senior and suggested that I take the screenwriting course being offered. Screenwriting? Ehh, I thought as I flipped though the course catalogue, but most of the good classes had been filled and it said that we would watch movies for a least one of the class meetings per week. So, “Why not” I finally decided and I enrolled in the course.

In retrospect, I find it interesting how many of the classes that I have decided to take on a whim have helped me to discover some of my life passions. I think that I loved screenwriting so much because it allowed me to combine all of my interests into one; it allowed me to write as well as thinking up ways to entertain people. I am also a psychology major because I love working with and watching the ways in which people interact with one another, which is also a huge complement to screenwriting because it will help you create more in-depth characters.

Taking that class opened up a whole new side to theater and the entertainment industry that I never even considered. I don’t know if I would ever be able to handle acting in the entertainment industry and I have always considered it a dream. But working behind the scenes, whether it is screenwriting or promoting a film or some other aspect of the industry, feels like it could become a future goal. Fittingly enough, the catch phase of Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights is “What fear fears most” and I often fear that I would not be able to make a career or a stable living off of working behind the scenes somewhere like at Universal or the entertainment industry in general. Art is so subjective and the hardest part of a screenwriter’s job isn’t in fact writing the screenplay but actually pitching it to a film corporation. We had to practice in that class I took in high school and I could feel my knuckles go ashen as I gripped my seat listening to my teacher’s superficial and stupid desires from the entertainment industry. “Vampires and werewolves are the craze right now so unless it’s got any of that you can just leave” he told my partner and I. While he did not believe that and was only trying to simulate what the experience would be like, I felt this knot of disgust sitting in my stomach. Despite my fears of being successful in the entertainment industry and its sometimes superficiality, another wise woman reminded me that fears are just “False Expectations Appearing Real.”

In whatever I do, I have always tried to follow my heart. When I fell in love with fiction and fantasy as a child, I decided that I wanted to be a writer. In college, I discovered the personal relevance of political activism in my life and became passionately involved in the Asian American Student Union and social justice issues. When I chose to become invested in these activities, I was following my heart. What I had chosen to pursue fulfilled me, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, in ways that transcended ordinary education or vocation.

So this year, when what I loved ceased to fulfill me completely, I began to turn away from activism and became more and more disengaged from my life. I missed meetings. I lost touch with friends. I missed meals and slept too late. I stopped writing for weeks and thought that I might never start again. And I felt crushed by this enormous sense of guilt, that I wasn’t living up to my own and others’ expectations of me. I didn’t know how to break out of my emotional stasis, of inaction. I yearned to be the better person in my mind, but I didn’t know how to reach that seemingly impossible ideal.

I’ve been reflecting a lot on responsibility and obligation in conjunction with following a passion. Of course, you must follow your heart and pursue what you love. However, maybe succumbing to every emotional impulse in the course of that pursuit isn’t always healthy. Perhaps it is best to let your heart determine a course of action at the beginning. Let the heart guide the direction of an arrow. But after the arrow takes flight, concentrate all of your energy for it to shoot off into the distance, as far as possible without falling.

A professor told me that if one positions oneself as an activist, one begins to accept the roles and responsibilities that activism demands. I am beginning to feel the impact and implications of that advice. Activism, writing, and any other life long pursuits, are not only passions, but also commitments. When I make a commitment to be an activist, it is not enough for me to only engage in activism when I am deeply inspired. Nor is it enough for me to passively accept my apathy and await forces of inspiration to lift me from my disengagement. Commitment is a choice. Choosing to accept responsibilities and do the work even when I feel uninspired is perhaps the greatest and most difficult act for me to make use of my life. I am willing to make that commitment.

I applied to quite a few jobs in my area and had two interviews last week (for my first choice jobs, too!).  The first interview was for a retail position at an internationally-acclaimed dance apparel store popular with people in “the biz:” the Radio City Rockettes, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Ann Reinking, you name it!  While I felt like I was the perfect candidate for the job, my interviewer was worried that I did not have previous retail experience, despite my tactful attempts to apply the skills from my non-retail jobs and internships to the position at hand.  I was not discouraged, however, until the woman interviewing me asked me if I had seen the movie, “The Devil Wears Prada.”  Not only had I memorized the lines in the film, I’d also read the book way back when.  But my love of the movie did not perpetuate excitement for this job…I was terrified.  I would be the “Anne Hathaway “ character, the over-worked young hopeful who (would hopefully not be) abused by her boss, forced to run around the city for countless errands, work extra hours, and complete unimaginable tasks without question.  I have yet to hear back from them, but I don’t have my hopes up.

My second interview, however, went much better, and included a free drink at Starbucks compliments of my interviewer.  The job is a front-desk position at a Pilates studio.  Maybe I’m over-confident, but again, I thought I was the perfect candidate for the job, an organized, friendly dancer aspiring to get her Pilates certification.  The interview questions were the typical: Why do you want to work here?  What are your strengths and weaknesses?  What would you do in a particular situation where…?  And so forth.  Despite all the interviews I’ve been on, I still have trouble with the strengths and weaknesses question…It’s a question that you want to rehearse, but you also want it to seem unrehearsed (genuine).  Still waiting to hear back from those jobs, so stay tuned!

I smirked as I had already calculated what their response would be.

“I want to study the homophobic tension in hip-hop” I replied.

And just as I had predicted, they all waved their hands at their ridiculousness for even asking the question.

Anyone who knows me can attest to my impenetrable love for hip-hop culture. I have been digesting rap and R&B music since my birth, being spoon-fed Eminem and Tupac right in between my mashed carrots and peas. The culture, the attitude, and the style have been cultivated into my being and it often irks me to no end when I hear outsiders lament about the woes and troubles that hip-hop has brought into the world. Blindsided by their ignorance, these people are unable to comprehend the autonomy that hip-hop has brought to our youth and future youth generations to come. And even though hip-hop has a dark side, just like every culture, it also has genuine lasers of light beaming through its dark history in search for the truth. I like to envision myself as one of those lasers every time I dedicate one of my research papers or articles to hip-hop, as I have devoted myself to exposing the truth about hip-hop, the good and the ugly.

My love for hip-hop culture often baffles many people seeing as I am an African-American woman and hip-hop is notorious for its misogynistic language and dehumanizing portrayals of women, especially African-American women. So how could I ever want to work in that type of industry? Well, I feel that lack of women present in the corporate and professional hip-hop industry has played an important role in the depiction of women in hip-hop culture. What many people do not understand is that hip-hop began as a space for men of color in low-income communities to reassert their masculinity within a society that prided itself on the feminization and objectification of the black male body; thus hip-hop was not created with women in mind except to act as sexual objects of their fantasy. Even though this is where hip-hop began, it astounds me that people do not recognize that this is not where it necessarily has to remain. I want to assure you that I am not excusing rappers or members in hip-hop culture for their awful portrayals or their repugnant attitudes towards women, but how can we really make a change within the industry if women do not take the time to understand the foundation of hip-hop? How can we really make a change within the industry if the only women present are video hos? The hip-hop industry needs more of a female presence in higher up positions if there is ever going to be a change in the culture. I love hip-hop and even though it has its flaws, that still does not detract from its beauty or its resiliency. Hip-hop may not appreciate my womanhood now, but if I turn my back on it, it just might not ever.

You don’t need to panic, really. I’m not doing anything truly awful.  I’ve just officially registered for NaNoWriMo. For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo is the abbreviation for National Novel-Writing Month, an event that occurs during the month of November where writers around the world decide to write an entire novel (totaling 50,000 words) in the course of a month. So, I have decided to be one of these writers for the next thirty days. Certainly, this is a reach for any writer, especially one who is also attempting to keep up with four classes and blog once a week and work-out regularly. I will be reaching new and rarely heard of stress levels that will have me ripping out my hair. It’s something I’ve been considering attempting for five years, so why now?

There are several reasons. One is that a few of my close friends are planning on attempting it, so I’d like to do it with them. Also, I’ve got a real, concrete idea for a single novel, and it’s a chance to challenge myself as well as accomplish something simply for my own pride. I’m actually really, truly excited by my idea, and it’s not even a multi-book fantasy series idea! It’s just one novel, and the more and more I think about it and brainstorm about my character the more excited I get! My feelings towards my idea are what most writers would do anything for. And I can’t help but fantasize about what it’ll be like to have tens of thousands of words of ONE story. I’ve never had that before! But it at least seems attainable.

Really, my attempt at NaNoWriMo is similar to what students of other majors should be attempting. It’s something well beyond my reach that I hope to complete, but I’m not sure I will. But writing this novel will help me become the person I want to be post-graduation. I feel like I’m trying to bring the future to myself right now. Heck, I think it’s worth it.
And when things get really bad (meaning I’m low on caffeine and the Motley’s closed for the night), I’ll just remind myself that the characters on this season of Downton Abbey have it much worse right now.

Here’s a link to the NaNoWriMo song, written and performed by Kristina Horner (which I’ve been listening to on repeat):