Today in Creative Writing we shared our life stories. Well, first we wrote them. We weren’t allowed to use any periods, so we each ended up with a big run-on sentence. Then we were told that we would have to share all of the things that happened to us throughout our life, compiled  in only twenty minutes, with no punctuation.

Needless to say, many of us were uncomfortable. A reasonably-sized group of angsty, teenage artists sharing the things that really stuck out in our lives? Well, there’s probably a reason that a  lot of the most famous writers were troubled people. Nevertheless, as a class we simply gave each other panicked looks and forged on.

Turns out it was a wonderful, touching experience. Our teacher, Heather, cried. So did a lot of us. I feel that sharing our work is such a big part of writing, and making that emotional connection with people. Speaking as someone new to the department, I feel that this experience brought me closer to my friends and fellow students. Funnily enough it also made me feel safe, because we’d overcome the uncomfortable fact of sharing our lives with each other. I think it was a really wonderful experience for all of us.

Isi Vasquez, Class of 2019