On August 29th, 2020, for the very first time, I entered the doors of Mississippi School of the Arts as a student. It was a feeling I can hardly put into words; all I can truly say is I have never felt such joy from simply walking into a building. This past week has been both extraordinary and humbling, and I’m gonna tell you all about it; but first, let’s talk about how I got here.
I probably have the most uncool “discovering MSA” story you will ever hear, but I’ll let you know about it anyway. One night, my friend and I decided to rent a few movies while I was staying at her house; we opted for some horror film that’s name I could not tell you and another film entitled Call Me By Your Name. It has its own issues, but we won’t get into that now; to summarize, I, like many male-attracted people, quickly fell in love with Timothée Chalamet. I decided that I must know everything about this man; sure, he was in his 20’s and I was, well, a child, but I was convinced we were soulmates. Like any thirteen year old would, I Googled him and found out that he went to an art school. Timothée Chalamet went to art school? Now I have to go to art school! I searched for art schools in Mississippi and discovered a little place called Mississippi School of the Arts. Not sure if you’ve heard of it, but you are on the school’s literary blog, so that’s kind of embarrassing for you. I’ll forgive it, though.
Next up, we have the application process. Two years had passed at this point and I was still religiously checking the school website, looking for a post about applications reopening. At some point in November (I think…don’t quote me on it.) I noticed that the application deadline had been set and I got to work on my literary portfolio immediately. I wanted to give my best and I did not really feel confident in the works I had created at that point, so I started writing a bunch of new creative pieces to submit. It took me a while to get the hang of writing poetry (I had never done it seriously before), but the sonnet and free-verse poems I turned in with that application are some of my favorite pieces I’ve ever written. If you’re planning to apply, don’t get discouraged about submitting art (whether it’s literary, visual, dance, etc.) in formats you’re not familiar or experienced with–it’s all apart of the learning process and you just might like what you end up with!
About a month and a half later, I received a letter informing me that I was invited to audition! I was ecstatic; I nearly dropped all of the other mail I was carrying back to my house. On February 29th, the time had come; I spent a few hours getting ready, and then, my parents and I made the hour and a half long trip to Brookhaven. I didn’t really feel nervous until I starting seeing mile markers that indicated that the town was only 20 miles way. I tried to listen to comfort music to calm myself, but that was not helping, so I turned on some TMG and started mumbling the words of their most recent release to hype myself up. I cannot believe I actually typed that out, but for some reason, I cannot force myself to get rid of it; so go ahead and get the laughter out. Are you good? No? A little more? That’s okay, I can wait. Hmm? Alright, let’s continue. I arrived at the school about thirty minutes before my interview time and, after taking a few minutes to build up my courage, I walked into the building with my parents close behind. During my audition, I met lots of really great people, including some of the senior literary students who, as you can tell from their individual blogs, are talented and inspiring beyond words.
During the actual audition process, I first was interviewed by two faculty members; I was so nervous I forgot what classes I was taking when they asked about them. When I was asked what my favorite subject is, I said chemistry. CHEMISTRY. I hate chemistry, but I was so panicked, I just said the first class that popped into my head. After I finished that, I was given a tour of the student life center by one of the school’s Student Art Ambassadors (she knows who she is, even though I cannot give her name here), and I spent some time with students who were attending MSA at the time, as well as other hopeful sophomores who were auditioning for various disciplines. Next, myself and other students auditioning for literary were taken to the computer lab, given a prompt, and asked to write a response to that prompt. All of my worries and anxieties faded away once I began to write; It was the first time that day that I felt truly confident in myself and my abilities. After I finished my piece, I waited for the allotted time to run out and well, that was it. For the next three weeks, I checked my mailbox every single day and, most times, I had to complete the walk of shame–which is what I call the trudge from the end of my driveway back to my house when there’s nothing in the mailbox.
BUT! On March 20th, the walk of shame was replaced with the twice as shameful “5’10 teenager excitedly skips up her driveway, which is connected to a busy highway where dozens of travelers can see her acting like a dork” because I GOT A LETTER AND IT WAS NOT THIN. Once I got inside, I glided past my family members and went to my room so I could open the letter alone. It’s safe to say my bed took a firm beating once I read the word “Congratulations!” and I let out the most obnoxious squeal you could possibly imagine. The next six months flew by, and absolutely nothing life-changing took place during this time, nothing at all. A global pandemic that cut school short by an entire quarter? Nope. Nothing like that.
Since I’ve got you all caught up, let’s get into my first week at MSA. I love the classes I’m currently taking (both inside and outside my discipline, but I obviously have a bias for my literary arts classes). When I first moved in, I felt really anxious and I had a difficult time starting conversations with people, but once classes began two days later, that anxiousness fell away and I was able to connect with my peers. I feel really connected to my fellow literary students and I’m looking forward to further building my relationship with each and every one of them. Attending literary classes has really inspired and empowered me as a creative writer, which is something I used to struggle with. I am very humbled by and grateful for the opportunity to study creative writing alongside other students who have the same passion for it and under a wonderful, dedicated teacher.
That’s all I’ve got for now. I am very hopeful for the future; it’s only going to go up from here and I can’t wait.
See you next time.
So cool!! Your adventure to MSA was super exciting!
Aw, this was so fun to read! I love how descriptive your recounted events were…everything read like an enjoyable narrative. This made me smile and laugh a little. I love comedic moments, so I greatly appreciated reading your blog. I found your discovery of MSA particularly intriguing; it is much more interesting than mine, I promise. And I also decided to write a completely new portfolio around application time…for the same reasons :). I look forward to reading more works from you. The literary family is glad to have you, I’m sure.
I absolutely LOVE hearing these stories and getting to learn about your experience. It’s surreal to me now, as a senior, because I was YOU last year. It’s kind of mind-boggling, but Sydney, I hope that you continue to have pleasant experiences at MSA and are “vibin’ & thrivin'” 🙂