Dear Universe — please fast forward to September 13 so I can start my writing program. Thanks.

As I approach (with much anticipation) the start of my MFA, Maureen Dowd’s column on roommate selection in yesterday’s New York Times took me back to my freshman year of college.

Dowd was turned off by an article in The Wall Street Journal that reported many entering freshmen are utilizing various social network applications to find a roommate that is more exactly like them.

Eh, I can empathize, I’ve certainly heard some horror stories. My college roommate experience was a dream. I adore those girls and we had the best time. And I still love the front door we collectively decorated.

Naomi (l), Maiya (r)

I’m glad I didn’t muddle with the process — I got the perfect roommates — they taught me so much and we’re still friends today. Naomi with all her books and cassette tapes, Maiya with her Dave Matthews Band obsession. Dowd’s column reminded me of how open I was to allowing the process to unfold. I didn’t know what to expect, so I didn’t expect anything. Sure, there was the rare entanglement. I can be pretty scary when my sleep is disrupted, and let’s just say I kept an abnormal shut-eye schedule. But as memory serves, things never got too weird, and we really enjoyed ourselves.

Now that I’m entering graduate school, I’m finding it a tad more difficult to let things flow. At this point in my life I do have very clear expectations and there is a fire lit under my arse called “7.9% unsubsidized interest.” It would be very easy for me to cross that line from being an enthusiastic and well-prepared student to being a controlling, anxious crazy biatch. For example, here are a few late night questions that cross my mind:

Why haven’t the books I need for Fall quarter posted online?
What if I don’t find what I need by when I need to read it
Why is orientation just two days before classes start?
Can I email my professor and ask…I don’t know what to ask, I just want to ask something!

Perhaps what keeps me from indulging in all that madness is the high level of genuine excitement I get every time I receive a piece of mail from SCAD.

I just got my schedule and I am pumped. Wanna know what I’m taking?

Nonfiction I
This course is designed so I can work my own stuff. That’s the jam! The focus is on mastering my own writing voice and we’ll all be presenting our pieces and discussing each other’s work. I want to use this class to really give my military project a kick in the pants.

The Publishing Process
What a concept! A writing program with a course on publishing. Believe it or not, this is a rarity in MFA writing programs. Here we’ll be writing query letters, book proposals, and submitting work to real-life editors (gasp!). The class is set up like an editorial meeting. Scary? Uh-huh. Do I care? Nooo. Yessss. Look, I’ve already got a hall of fame for my rejection letters so bring it on.

Persuasive Writing
This course sounds amazing. It takes the premise that effective persuasive writing is a major component of visual forms (like in advertising) and we’ll get to explore the relationship writing has with promotional materials, design, advertising, etc. Mad Men, watch out…