Author: Jen Obi

Start of Second Year: Pressure Cooked

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Jeff Attaway Right now I feel like I’m concaving into myself building up and about ready to burst. I feel like I’ve felt this way since the start of term, and the feeling isn’t really letting up. Perhaps I’m more of a circus act right now trying to walk a tight rope while balancing an elephant on a tray in one hand and twirl a flaming baton in the other. It feels kind of like that. I also feel the pin pricks of my hyper awareness making me feel like they’re eyes on me at all times both literal and metaphorical. But then again none of that really makes sense. So let’s start again. I’m officially a second year student and since my program is only two years long that means my journey through my MFA years is almost over. There is something somewhat bittersweet about it because I can’t help but wonder where the time went. First year feels like it was yesterday, and it’s odd to think the 2nd years’ whose works I …

Daniel Go

Breaking the Lull: A New Term Begins

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So the end of last term was a desperate time for me. I had a bad case of the holiday blues, not to mention the very real cold sickness I was nursing, and financially I was in a really bad place. Luckily, things fell into place. I managed to pick up a job in a call center just as December rolled in, and it couldn’t have come any later. Just a week later, I heard back on the GAship I phone interviewed for, and I got it. Can’t tell you how happy I was. Tuition covered, a stipend, free health insurance. Again, just what I needed. So while everyone else was enjoying presents, holiday treats, and family, I was working. Working a lot. Working so much I barely remember December. I wasn’t bitter for any of it. It would have been nice being able to see some of my family, but I had a lot of catching up to do as far as bills went, so I was glad to be saved in a sense. …

From Week 11 to Week 14: Battling Melancholia and End of Term

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This coming week marks the last official week of my classes. Do I have class next week? Yes, one class. Leave it to my lit class to be the one class that actually is going to the absolute last week when most of my classes, like every English class should, is ending the week before the university’s official finals week, but such is life, as they say. I’m coming off of Thanksgiving and I have a lot to be thankful for. I’m thankful that after next week I will never have to take another lit theory class again. I’m thankful that this horrible cold I’ve been suffering under for a little over a week now is slowly, but surely, dissipating into the aether. I’m thankful that this week I should hear news back for the spring GAship I applied for last week and the job I applied for  before the holiday, and no mater what the outcome, thankfully by the end of the month my money for next semester will drop in. I’m thankful that …

From Week 6 to Week 10: Bending Genre

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The above picture is one I snapped a few weeks ago while biking around downtown Flagstaff. Yes, biking, something I’ve only recently been able to do on the daily for the first time in just about 10 years. Before I moved out west, I was super dependent on my car. I needed it for everything. I needed it to get me just about everywhere. It stressed me out to no end having to deal with inevitable car repair bills and wondering how I was supposed to get to work to make the money to fix it. Don’t get me started on rush hour traffic and road rage. But biking downtown, I was able to go at my own pace. I wasn’t in a rush to get anywhere. I could just go where I wanted for as long as I wanted and appreciate all the beauty around me. I don’t know if I’ll ever get another moment in life when I can just do that to no consequence.

From Week 0 to Week 6

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So, my intention was to do a dedicated week 0 post and then do a post each week for each week of school. Then reality set in along with practicality, and I realized the once a month model made way more sense. So, I’ll condense my week 0 experience and elaborate greatly on the good stuff: school work! I know there have already been tons of things people have said about the application process, and with everyone who is currently getting their portfolios ready for Draft ’15, I’ll say Caitlin’s post on the subject is very well informed and exhaustive. All I will add is don’t do what I did! If there’s anyone who’s constantly putting themselves at a disadvantage by doing things the hard way, it’s definitely me. If you haven’t started working on your samples already, get on that now! If you’re an early bird, the summer would have been a great time to do some sprucing and sorting of old material and workshopping and editing new material. Luckily, like I’ve said, it’s …

Jennifer Obi Introduction (Northern Arizona University ’16)

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It’s probably providence that I waited to the absolute last minute to write this post. I’m constantly doing that when I have writing deadlines, and I guess old habits die hard as they say. I spent a long time trying to figure out the perfect way to write this introduction. What should I highlight? What should I speak on as an authority? It was all a waste of time. I’m no authority, and there isn’t any right or wrong thing to highlight. But I guess that speaks to who I am as a person. Always trying to figure out the right way and trying to figure out if just being me is enough. I’m still trying to figure that one out. I should start from the beginning. My name is Nkechi. My name is Jennifer. I go by Jen. Just call me Jen. I’m a pieces, and as any pieces will tell you, I’m entirely ruled too much by my emotions. And the last couple years for me were pretty bad. Really bad. I’ve always …