Talia Does All the Things: Finishing My Degree, New York in the Summertime, Harry Potter Trivia, Distractions, and Doctor Who
I’m not quite out of the woods yet, but I can almost see the light? I presented my capstone yesterday, had my last ever classes at Brandeis and went to Lavender graduation (which was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster all around) that made getting this blog post out in time less of a priority that actually making it in to work this morning. (Which I did, early, thank you. Alas, blogging does not pay the bills).
In other news, I am fantastically failing in my efforts to not do all the things. I just can’t seem to help myself. Responsibilities fall into my lap and I hug them close before doing my best to complete them and then fling them away in rapid succession as they no longer matter.
I think that metaphor got away from me.
In any case, I think that the wonderful world of the internet is long overdue for an update, so here I am, bright eyed and bushy tailed. As I started to write this I was 2 classes, 2 papers, and 1 presentation away from finishing the 17th grade an acquiring my master’s degree. Now we can call that simply 2 papers, and we’ve gotten to the point that everyone keeps asking me, what’s next?
So, I’ll tell you that I have been accepted to, and will be attending, the Columbia Publishing Course at the Columbia School of Journalism in New York come this June. For those of you who aren’t quite sure what exactly that program is (and don’t worry, neither did my mom when I first told her I was applying) the CPC is a six-week intensive course on all aspects of book, magazine, and digital media publishing. While I loved my internship last summer, I am incredibly excited to get a deeper dive into some of the other aspects of publishing that I didn’t get a chance to familiarize myself with, seeing as how the internship did have a specific focus on subsidiary rights.
You might think that, with the end of my final semester and with the assignments getting me ready for the CPC pouring in (because yes, there is advance homework that I already had to complete) I wouldn’t have time to focus on anything else but, alas, you would be wrong. I’ve also been focused on another project, which is working with a group of friends old and new to create Dobby’s Sox, the Boston area chapter of the Harry Potter Alliance.
When I was an undergrad I was a member of the Brandeis Chapter of the HPA, and I’ve been lamenting no longer being part of a chapter. This is to say that I was incredibly excited to discover upon attending the Granger Leadership Academy that there was in fact a brand new chapter starting in my home city! As a chapter member I haven’t been idle, and one of the things that we have been working on is the 10th annual Accio Books campaign. We’re hosting a book drive that, among other things, has required giving up prime real estate on my bedroom floor for the many books (and hopefully many more!) that we are collecting through May. There is a collection box set up at Trident Booksellers and Cafe, and if you are in the area (and like Harry Potter trivia) we’re having an event at 7pm on May 30th that you can buy a ticket for on Eventbrite.
All these new things I’m using to distract myself, though, are just that: distractions. I have to admit that I’m a little scared to leave Brandeis, which has been my home for not just the past five years, but in reality, my entire life. Yes, it’s true that I graduated last year, but last year, as I left, I knew I was coming back. This time that isn’t the case, and honestly I don’t know exactly how to feel about that. I’ve never been good with goodbyes.
What I do know, is, that as the Eleventh Doctor said, “times change, and so must I. […] We all change when you think about it. We’re all different all through our lives. And that’s okay, that’s good. You’ve got to keeping moving. As long as you remember all the people that you used to be.” Nostalgia hurts too much sometimes, but sometimes it is a good kind of hurt. And I rather do think that the life I have made for myself at Brandeis is one that I will be able to continue in my own way apart from it.
As you could probably tell from the multivariable nature of its title and the garden path it has followed, this post is a wanderer, much like myself, and perhaps overly-committed to many things, also like myself. There are many more things that I wish I could say, but cannot for the fact that in certain ways and cases my hands are tied. Hopefully in the future I can be more open, but for the time being I must keep my silence, at least as it pertains to the public internet.
Never cruel and never cowardly,
Talia
