The Outer Banks in North Carolina are most alluring. Blackbeard the pirate haunted the waters of Pamlico Sound, and OcracokeIsland, where we camped, is where he was finally captured and killed. The locals speak with a fabulous Irish Brogue, and I felt a rapport and wonder in connecting with those of my Celtic ancestry.
Today, I am sitting on the hardwood floor, in our lounge room. My body feels pretty normal. My neck aches a little, my tummy is full of dinner, my mouth tastes nicely, of the drink I just gulped. I am weary from a day of work, and the transition of coming home to my beautiful, energetic, noisy children. Benjamin is cycling home in the darkness. I am always happier when everyone is safely home. My biggest fear is one of my loved ones dying. Oh, and I have lymphoma, stage four. What does this even mean? I'm just me. Mortal, but that is in the one-day-far-away category, isn't it? The doctor, bizarrely, told me there are a lot of little lymphomae, tripping around my lymph system, like jiggling jelly-fish in a warm sea. Some of them have twisted all together, left of my belly-button, and I can feel them. An 8cm x 5cm mobile mass, says the computerised tomography report. I can feel lumps in my neck and groin, and can imagine these funny little lymphomae, dancing around
A very special element of the proceedings was Gene Tagaban from the First Nations officially welcoming us. Here he is doing a Raven Dance, after telling the story of how Hawk went to fetch the firy spirit for Raven, and carrying it bent her beak, and Raven breathed the spirit into the mountains and the trees and each human being - it was a beautiful story. I was touched deeply by all the expressions of welcome, and especially by dear family and friends being present in the hot sun at my oath ceremony!
Wonderful blogging community, I'm posting this statement with two purposes. 1. It kind of summarises where I want to be going, which I want to share with you 2. I'd love feedback! They've asked me to: "Include your purpose in pursuing graduate study, any research you wish to pursue, and your future vocational goals." Thanks for reading this - I feel honoured by your interest in my life!! I want to write a novel, with beautiful sentences and adroitly crafted chapters. Since preschool I have read voraciously, and appreciate exquisite writing in multifarious forms. I have natural writing talent, and derive deep satisfaction from creating prose, yet I have spent my life longing to write novels and not doing so. The work I am submitting came into existence because I was applying to attend the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Belonging to this writing community would enable me to be disciplined in producing literature. The tutelage and mentoring I would receive is something I y
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