For awhile it felt like the light at the end of the tunnel was a train speeding toward me. All the books I’d been working on at the publishing house came in at once in a raw stage, needing to be edited as fast as my eyes could fly across the type. Meanwhile, “finals” week approached for my MFA program, and I had twenty-page papers to write and a presentation.
As if my expected workload wasn’t enough, a writing opportunity for a magazine came along that I couldn’t pass up—and I’m very glad I didn’t.
And then there were the lunches. Usually I try to reserve my lunches for catching up on emails and doing some writing or editing. Yeah, yeah, I know, nerdy of me, but I try to make the most of my time. Well, right as all the big projects were landing in my lap, so were working lunches. I had a lunchtime phone chat with my mentee one day and lunch with my book-publishing mentor another day. I had lunch with my former editor and a writer, with whom I’d had the privilege of working with. There were also long-overdue lunches with book-publishing colleagues who’d had birthdays or started new positions. Each of these lunches were important to me so I found a way to pack them into my schedule. I love hearing about all the amazing projects everyone’s working on and I get so inspired by them.
Because it was the end of the semester, I also went out after class with my fellow writers to celebrate. I get to read such personal moments of their lives in the essays they write each week, so it was nice to sit down with them over a glass of red wine and decompress after the end of the semester. –The end of our first year! We’re halfway done! Man, it goes by fast.
I’m also working on a super exciting project for Burnside, which I can’t wait to tell you about. Soon, I promise!
So, all this to say, I’ve been a bit crazed lately but life is really good. I love the work that I do and the people with whom I work. I’m so thankful to my family and friends for giving me the space, encouragement, and prayers to get what I needed to do done. And I’m thankful to all of you for reading my blog and supporting my writing.
Now, as life returns to a more normal pace, I’m actually feeling a bit anxious about how to handle my newfound time. Do any of you ever feel like that? I’m still in the midst of some personal writing projects, but I also have plans for long walks in Central Park, deep conversations over sumptuous meals, choosing which books I want to read. And, sleeping.
Blogging goes without saying.
Painting I made several years ago.
Stephanie Nikolopoulos 