Legacy

The end of August marks an important kind of transition for many: going back to school. This year is the second where I’m not returning to Hamilton College—those years fly by!

Over the summer I was able to chat with a few Hamilton students interested in pursuing a career in publishing who are returning for their senior year on The Hill. Like me, they’re Creative Writing majors. And what they had to tell me about their upcoming senior projects warmed my heart:

In the Creative Writing program at Hamilton there is a heavy emphasis on literary short stories. It’s not the type of writing I do and I struggled with it. Then came my senior project, where I was able to pick my genre. Without any hesitation I chose to write a young adult novel. It was my project and the professor or classmates couldn’t complain. Luckily, they didn’t. They actually embraced the project almost as much as I did and provided fantastic feedback. I read the first couple of chapters during a reading the last week of school and since graduation I have been unceasingly rewriting and revising The Rose of Coracus.

The girls I met with this summer were sophomores during my senior year and, interested in what the senior project entailed, attended the senior reading. Like me, they’re more interested in young adult than literary adult and were thrilled to see me breaking the mold because it gave them hope that they could also write what they wanted instead of what is preferred by a prestigious liberal arts college. Apparently, according to these rising seniors, I set the trend. I was a rebel and didn’t even know it!

It’s always nice when you find out your actions positively affected someone. I’m thrilled that those girls (and maybe even others!) will write what they want to learn about and grow in because they saw me do it first. That may be a quieter legacy than a track record or published journal article, but it’s my handprint on Hamilton and I couldn’t be happier.