I'd go back to school. Seriously. I wish I could take weird, intense classes all day and not have to be job hunting all the time. I have a bachelor's degree - Liberal Arts - and if I were to go back to school, I would want to attend:
- The Center for Cartoon Studies (or CCS) - I love graphic novels and comics and the storytelling that can happen within them. I don't have many peers that are interested in their wholistic production. Additionally, I find myself drawn to CCS comics when put in a lineup with other comics. I think that CCS can add a lot to my own storytelling. Clearly, something is resonating with me there, and I want to pursue it.
- A culinary institute - I love cooking, it's been something I've had to work hard to make physical space for in my house, and I love it. I've fallen off of it a bit, usually cooking the dishes I already know rather than scouring the net for new bites to attempt, but I think part of that is a skill issue. No matter how much cooking I watch on YouTube, I learn from doing. And I improve by doing with an experienced mentor to help me learn faster as I am doing. Culinary school sounds like the ideal, but I'd want to dedicate myself fully to that, and also have not nearly enough money to invest in that way.
- A Master's degree in Directing - Years ago (I'm 80% sure this is the same program I was looking at back then; it IS pretty specific.), I scouted out this MFA program in London: The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama's course Movement: Directing and Teaching, MA/MFA. (One or two years, respectively.) I would eat that shit up. I was working on a Physical Theatre semester when the pandemic hit, and dang do I miss having a studio space to work in. Having room to run around and use your body is so critical to me and it's simply not something I have easy access to right now. Plus I always want to improve my direction.
- Some kind of farming fellowship or collective - Over the years I've run across many co-ops and radically collaborative farming efforts, but only online. I want to see, hands on, if I actually would like working the land as much as I think I would, or if I am romanticizing it. I love my garden, as itty as it is (my tomatoes were wicked prolific this year and still going strong! ...bizarrely), and I have fond memories of working the heck out of a patch of land in my backyard when I was a kid to make it ripe for the garden. I hope I'd like it. It seems like it would bring me peace.
I realize about 4 people (if that) read this blog, so this is more of a rhetorical question rather than an actionable inquiry, but that said: I've been enjoying this list format, what about you? It makes the process of writing a blog post feel a bit less involved than what I've often done before. This has been my first day fully off in several weeks (not huge days, but always Something filling them), and I'm just enjoying some free time and vibing. Maybe I'll make some more lists. This is also, I'm realizing, a way of me making a tiny zine without having to bust out any particular program or clear space for paper and scissors.
Read breathingstories' A Ritual to show Love to the Trans Man in your Life or Uncle Vlad - Writer's Acts of Rebellion to get a sense of the mindset I went into writing this with. They both make really great work, and these two pdfs are no exception.