grad school | Literature and Libation

Profiling

February 3, 2012 · by Oliver Gray

For both of my core classes (Nonfiction Techniques and Contemporary Nonfiction), I have to write profiles. I’ve written a few in the past (my favorite being of Dr. Christopher Vilmar at Salisbury University), so I am no stranger to the format and nuances of personal description.

This is great news! I love writing profiles! Meeting and working with new people ranks as one of my favorite activities. If I could make a career out of talking to new people every day, I’d be one happy writer.

My problem isn’t writing a profile, it’s choosing who to profile. I find way too many people way too interesting. My teachers are adamant that I interview someone I don’t really know (using “know” like know), partly as an exercise in good journalism, partly to remain as objective as possible. The profiles are supposed to capture not only the personality and mannerisms of the person, but also speak to a broader theme.

I’ve cast my social net, trolling for an interesting, dynamic personality. So far, I’ve come up with the following (with my proposed theme/tone of the piece):

Current head of Police for the University of Maryland (A piece on the different faces of crime on a prominent college campus, in one of the highest crime counties in Maryland)
Highly qualified IT project manager that cannot find a job and has been unemployed for over a year (A commentary piece on unemployment, especially in a field that everyone assumes is stable)
Random dude who bags groceries at Safeway (A “watchman” piece about a normal guy who sees a daily cross-section of our culture, buying habits, and attitudes)
My neighbor, who is the executive director of an assisted living home (An emotional piece about living and taking care of people near the end of their lives)
My mandolin teacher, who is as much a philosopher as he is a musician (A piece on teaching and how music applies to all aspects of life, through theory and philosophy)

I feel like I could write any of these well, but I can’t commit to any one thing. The Safeway dude might come across really well (especially how I’m imagining the narrative arc), but it also has the possibility to be boring, should the interview be flat. Timing is very important, so the current social and political climate should definitely be taken into consideration.

I’m also open to anything completely random that has potential. I’ll strike up a conversation with anyone, if I think it’ll be interesting.

Throwing it out into the void. What do you readers think? Do any of these stand out more than the others? Would you prefer to read any of these specifically?

Comments, suggestions, ideas very welcome!

Rush Hour

January 27, 2012 · by Oliver Gray

On Monday night, running through the streets of DC, headed for a building I’d never seen before, I had a moment of serenity.

I was late for my first day of class. I had been planning for this day for months; I left work early, had all my books and notes together, and was thoroughly prepared to be a kickass student once again. The cruel fates who control the DC Metro had made other plans. The train I was on lurched and heaved awkwardly, often unable (or perhaps unwilling) to open and close its door. I was constantly checking my phone, watching my elaborate plan fall to pieces as large chunks of time were wasted at each stop. Just short of my destination, the train sighed and moved no more. They off-loaded all of the passengers and announced that “due to a mechanical failure, you’re all going to be late. Our bad.”

I, a paragon of punctuality, panicked. I considered my options. A cab would be costly, but I’d only be a few minutes late. I could wait for another train, but my hopes were dim. I did, in the end, what I often do: I ran. I booked it for the broken escalator (which seemed all too appropriate at the time), dodging packs of pissed off commuters. I came out of the Metro right onto the DC Mall; the ghostly image of the Capitol stood out in the foggy night air. I ran across the grass and mud, hoping to hail the first taxi I came across. I had no cash, but figured I’d sort it out later.

I couldn’t find a single cab. It was rush hour, but not a glimpse of yellow could be seen! I decided to just keep walking in the general direction of class, eventually reaching the next Metro station. I abandoned my cab idea, decided to get back on the train and continue on as originally planned. I made it to the building around 6:20 for a 6:00 class. I entered the classroom, apologetic and sweaty. Fortunately, the teacher of this class is awesome, and he was forgiving. My only punishment was to tell the class a story.

As I unpacked my things and regained my composure in the little classroom, I suddenly felt at peace. I realized that I was out of breath, leg aching, bounding up the giant escalators of the Dupont Circle station, because I legitimately cared about being late. I’m often blasé about getting to work on time, mainly because it’s not amazingly rewarding. But here I was, stressed and pushing myself to my limits to not be a few minutes late for a class. I didn’t appreciate the feeling of dedicated learning time during my undergraduate years. I was too concerned with 10,000 other things. Now, in a world where those 10,000 other things are 1,000,000 things, often not chosen by me, it is incredibly calming to have 5 hours a week where I can do nothing but learn.

Both of my classes seem excellent. The teachers are exuberant and friendly, my classmates eager to share their experiences. I didn’t think I could be more excited than I was when I was accepted to this program months ago. But here I sit, on the proverbial edge of my seat, practically drooling to see what’s next.

Hidden moral of this story? Never, ever, trust the DC Metro to get you anywhere on time. Doubly so if you have somewhere important to be.

One hundred and eighty-eight feet, ten inches.

The brain that doesn’t feed itself, eats itself

November 28, 2011 · by Oliver Gray

And so I attempt to unravel more of the world’s mysteries, at least those contained with corporeal fetters of written words and paper pages.

I just received news that I was accepted to Johns Hopkins University, in the Masters of Writing program. I start in a short few months, but am truly looking forward to the challenges of academic life…again.

Here’s to progress! Cheers!

Off-topic

February 2, 2011 · by Oliver Gray

I recently made a comment on my lovely girlfriend’s blog, regarding graduate school, personal statements, and our mutual struggle writing the latter to get into the prior. The entire process has turned out to be surprisingly vexing, and I have had trouble writing something that I feel comfortable submitting.

The problem isn’t writer’s block. I am fully cognizant of that feeling and have had my fair share of the inexplicable phenomenon since I began actively writing. I have a nearly constant stream of thoughts, and often find myself having written an entire paper, document, or post in my head, before I even start typing. The main reason for most of my writing inaction is a lack of time, not a lack of motivation.

Unfortunately, I have a lot of trouble focusing my mind. My uninterrupted thought-stream is equal parts irrelevant, frivolous, trivial, and fantastic. I often visualize a serene countrysides where bands of warriors travel on some quest, but just as quickly shift mental gears and start formulating insults for my incompetent coworkers. In the same day I’ll silently analyze why I speak the way I do, try to describe the taste of cashews without mentioning cashews, and maybe even think about a talking tree. I never feel “empty” but I often feel without real substance.

I can’t claim it is ADD or some other diagnosable problem, I just think I’ve let my imagination be in charge for too long and can’t turn it off now. Truth be told I enjoy that my brain wanders to and from so many unconnected, arguably silly topics; it makes me feel like I’m actually exercising my mind. But as enjoyable as it is to daydream, it hardly helps my cause.

I think that a major issue with something like a personal statement is the manufactured weight of it in relation to your overall admissions application. Every website you read claims it is either the most important, or just as important as your resume, letters of recommendation, or writing samples. This seems absurd. A short ego-stroking block of text is supposed to be a major factor as to whether or not you get into a school?

Therein lies my second issue. I can deal with the lack of specificity in a prompt and pretty much any length requirement, but I find it difficult to write something that highlights who I am and what I do without sounding ridiculously narcissistic. While I do consider myself to be of above average badassery, I worry that every sentence I write is overblown and makes me sound like a demigod of academia. Literacles, if you will. I do feel like I’ve done a lot of cool shit (some of it actually worthy of note) but why would anyone who doesn’t know me feel the same way? Writing this thing feels like one huge, “you had to be there” moment.

Lastly, and most importantly, I feel my biggest problem is settling on one concept to focus the entire statement around. I feel that a list of my experience and accomplishments is too trite, no matter how well it is written. Conversely, every time I try to write something with flair, I worry that I have strayed off-topic or even off-purpose, which negates the whole point of a statement of purpose.

All the examples I read have stellar references to literature or insightful quips about their experience that seem fresh. Fortunately for them, but unfortunately for me, most of the examples I can find are from students who are applying to very specific fields; period literature, branch sciences, medical programs. I think it would be easier if I knew that I wanted to go study Early American Weird Fiction of the 1910s, as I could pull from that field and even mock-emulate that style to show my passion and knowledge.

A writing degree seems very broad in comparison. What else can I say beyond my inspirations, motivations, and aspirations? How can I express all of the needed information without sounding like generic application essay #3462? I have this feeling that I’m going to do a lot of other writing in an attempt to drum up that “Eureka!” moment in relation to this damned statement of purpose.

Maybe that is a good thing.

The demigod, Literacles, fights off the manifestation of bad grammar with his shiny sword of punctuation!