Author Update #16

WOW! I really can’t believe that I am done with school. “Hey Dee, where have you been lately?” Oh, just SLAYING IT. Yes, I have finally graduated from UCI — cum laude, no less — while trying to move and take care of my kids. What can I say? I like pressure. So, I am now the holder of Bachelor’s degree in English. My class on “Graphic Memoirs” was small but successful. Also, I won the Humanities Honors Prize for my thesis, “To Hold and Horrify: Changing Domestic Violence Narratives Toward Feminist Horror.” The prize was in special recognition for its “Literary Style.” I was so thrilled to receive it from the Dean of Humanities and DID NOT expect it AT ALL. I worked very hard, but my work was far more creative than the traditional research project, so I didn’t think I had a chance. So many of the people in my cohort were so smart!

So, am I happy to be done? Not at all (but sorta yes). It is so complicated to explain. It was like I was in this 4-year relationship that took A LOT of work and love, but then it just ended like *that* and I’m not even totally sure what happened. But, more than that, it was something I dreamt of for decades, and told myself so often that I couldn’t do, that it barely feels real. All I want to do is go back to school — weird, right? Alas, I cannot. I am moving out of Irvine to Rancho Cucamonga in exactly 8 days. I will be applying to graduate MFA and PhD programs this Fall, so we’ll see if my wish to return to school will come true — next April(ish). In the meantime, I am going to be writing. So, maybe there will be a new publication forthcoming; who knows?