I've always loved literature. Reading and listening to stories opens the imagination to new information, different perspectives, and the countless ways language can be utilized to convey deeper meaning. I've known for most of my life that I wanted to make something of myself, to put myself out there, but that public vulnerability doesn't come easily.
While attending Central Connecticut State University as an undergraduate, my initial publications in the university's various literary journals and magazines gave me the initial confidence to begin plying my trade in the wider literary market. I'm grateful to my colleagues and mentors at CCSU for giving me the wide array of literary tools which I now utilize in my professional career.
Definitely high fantasy. In a world oftentimes filled with grim realities, it is nice to occasionally disconnect one's mind from this realm, and instead transplant it into one most vividly defined by upraised swords, gallant heroes, dastardly and diabolical villains, conflicting factions, and a quest driven as much by introspection as by external events. While I have not yet had the pleasure of publishing any works in this particular genre, it is one I intend to explore authorially sometime in the not-so-distant future!
The two elements I value highest in almost any narrative are: character and worldbuilding. With few exceptions, most traditional western-told narratives focus heavily on the protagonist, and their environment. If you do not believe the character can reasonably exist within their world, or their world is conversely wildly disconnected from the character, then you risk dismantling the reader's immersion. I intend to create worlds oozing immersion, with characters that come across as living, breathing entities of said world.
I knew if there was one thing I could not only produce passing grades in, but actually excel in, it was English Literature. As someone who did not have a conventional educational upbringing, having been homeschooled for the vast majority of my childhood years, entering even a modest-sized university like Central Connecticut State University was an enormous life adjustment.
English Literature was my safety blanket, a familiar presence in my academic life I could cling to when challenges arose. Furthermore, my exploration within this program granted me many opportunities that I otherwise would have never otherwise considered, let alone actively sought out. With English Literature as a primary structure, I ultimately wove a web of experiences that extended far beyond the classroom, many of which I wear with pride to this day.
As a child, my elementary school experience was far from ideal. In the late 90s and early 2000s, information about Asperger's Syndrome, now re-labeled as Autism Spectrum Disorder, was not widely known, and people with disabilities were held in rather low regard by most members of society.
My elementary school principal and teachers decided to disregard my documented disabilities and treat all symptoms exclusively as behavioral issues, met with immediate and harsh discipline. Teachers would actively look the other way if and when I was bullied by other students, and any response to provocation from me would result in being locked away in unsupervised isolation. Seeing this, my parents made the decision to pull me out of the public school system.
Through perseverance on both my part and my family's, I regularly met academic standards, and at age 18, passed the GED exams on the first try, and soon thereafter officially received an General Equivalency Diploma. However, I deeply regretted the loss of the many positive social experiences I could have had, under the influence of kinder teachers and administrators.
At this time, I do not know whether I will ultimately decide to teach at the K-12 level or the university level. However, in either case, it is my paramount goal that each and every student that walks into my classroom receives the kindness and active support I myself was systematically denied at every turn.
I cannot control how others treat me, but I can control how I treat others in turn.
It is my current goal to, at the conclusion of my current Teacher Education M.A. program, pursue an English Literature M.A. I am actively looking at a number of competitive programs. My current preference would be to study at the University of Connecticut, (UConn,) up in Storrs, CT.
However, I am also looking at other alternative programs. My main interest at the moment is utilizing my Creative Writing experiences, building upon what I've already learned as I transition to graduate study. Additionally, I would love to participate in a program that actively grants me teaching experience within the college classroom.