Christina With An A

Outside of my few close friends and family, I don’t talk much to anyone about dropping out of the MFA Program. I think part of that is because I’m afraid some people will think I didn’t have “what it takes” to stick it out, or they will think that I’m just bad-mouthing the Program. On the contrary, I left the Program after much contemplation and, honestly, praying. It was not an easy or flighty choice. It was one I made to better myself as a writer. It probably wasn’t until my final year in undergrad that I decided I would apply to the MFA Program. It took me close to ten years to get my undergrad degree because I took a few years off from school to save money. Then when I got close to the end, I swore up and down I would never go back for more school. One day, that just changed. I applied and was accepted to a Program. Receiving that acceptance email was probably one of the greatest moments of my life. I had a hard time fitting in with most of the other students in my first year, ...

After recently dropping out of an MFA Program for personal and financial reasons, I realized that if anyone else was going to take my writing seriously, I had to first take my writing seriously. That means that I have to discipline myself to read, write, and network regularly. Most, if not all, MFA Programs have a required reading list for the students to read over the course of the program. My program list was made up of 30 books, 20 of which were determined by the fiction faculty, and 10 of which I chose myself. The 20 required books on the reading list neither interested me nor suited my writing tastes. I’m all for branching out in craft and subject matter, but I struggled to find any personal value in the few books on the list that I did read. Which got me thinking: If all MFA reading lists are fairly generalized (except of course for the books the student chooses), how is that really helping the student and his or her specific writing style? You can learn just as much from thi...