I am pleased as punch to finally be able to make this announcement! Beginning in August of this year, I will pursuing my Masters of Arts in English Literature at Virginia Commonwealth University. I am extremely excited to be moving to Richmond and heading back into the classroom as a student. I am also completely terrified. The thought that I have no idea what I'm doing because I haven't read enough canonical literature to be a 'real' English student plagues me. But here we are anyway!
As my time in New York draws to a close, I'm feeling a lot of conflicting emotions. By the time I leave, I will have lived in this city for just under two years and even in that brief time, I feel that I have become almost an entirely new person. That is not to say that I've continuously loved New York. It smells bad like...all the time. I'm on-guard in every moment. I've been in a long-distance relationship the whole time which has coated my life here with a bittersweet glaze. I have also absolutely loved certain things here. The oasis of green that is Prospect Park. The ability to find solitude while surrounded by strangers. The subway conductor whose announcements always end with "be safe and have a kind day" on my morning commute. The magic of a city sunrise. The unwavering belief that I can make my way home at any time of day or night regardless of the hot mess that is the MTA train schedule. The wonderful people I've met here. My people. It is these upcoming goodbyes that make me cry on the sidewalk as I blast Kacey Musgraves' "Happy & Sad" in my ears.
New York will not be an easy city to walk away from. But unlike trees, we cannot stay rooted in one place if time has decided to move the Earth along underneath us. Time is moving me back to Virginia and I'm nothing if not here for the ride. Class of 2024, here we go again!
Yay! Congrats!
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