issue 4. serendipitous

September 2024: On a love for learning and a long-awaited autumn

SERENDIPITOUS. An adjective to describe discoveries "made or done by happy accident, unexpected", formed from the English version of the Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip whose heroes were always making discoveries “by accidents and sagacity” of things they were not in quest of. Serendip (also Serendib), attested by 1708 in English, is an old name for Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka), from Arabic Sarandib, from Sanskrit Simhaladvipa ("Dwelling-Place-of-Lions Island").

If I had to sum up the last two months in one word, it would be chaotic.

I turned 19 and my best friend gifted me pens stamped with quotes from The Tortured Poets Department. I moved into my college dorm, which faces the building where my choir class takes place. I found my new favorite independent coffee shop, which has a wall of dog photos. I tried Texas Roadhouse sweet bread rolls for the first time (if you haven’t tried them—I highly recommend). I volunteered at a local farm and ended up holding the cutest baby chicks and rabbits. I learned how to line dance. I visited Chicago for a pre-law trip. I watched my second-ever Marvel movie. I participated in my first choir concert, which was held beneath the campus pine trees. Most recently, I began attending meetings for my college literary and arts magazine—after four meetings, I’ll be able to begin voting on what pieces make it into the final issue.

So it’s little wonder why I’ve been radio silent. Adjusting to college has been a challenge that I’ve thrown myself into wholeheartedly. It helps that everyone is friendly—my suitemates, my classmates, and my professors. I am so glad that I chose a small school! I believe it is the best decision I could have made for myself. I’m grateful that I’ve fallen into a cohort of people who are kind, funny, and engaging. Once you get past the standard freshman introduction script (“Hi, I’m ___, I want to major in ____, my hometown is ____, I live in ____ residence hall”), better avenues of conversations open up.

If there is one thing that has thrown me for a loop in college, it is the lack of consistency between professors. One professor might post the entire semester calendar of assignments, while another might only make assignments visible from week to week. The amount of work also differs. My Creative Writing professor requires a journal assignment each week. However, for my Anthropology and Choir classes, I just need to come up with a pre-determined number of journals by the end of the semester. The professors’ communication preferences vary, too. One of my professors explicitly stated that he does not answer emails; he only schedules in-person meetings, so that “your generation can better your face-to-face speaking skills”. My other professors tend to be more attentive about answering emails.

One thing I have not neglected to do in college is become involved. I’ve participated in volunteer services, choir, the literary magazine, the pre-law society…and I’ve also attended multiple humanities-centered and social science-themed lectures. It’s fascinating to see such an array of speakers and topics. And as fate would have it, in one lecture, I sat beside the dean of the library—who heard me say that I wanted an on-campus job and suggested that I apply at the library!

If there is one word that I would use to describe myself, it is learner. More than anything, I enjoy being exposed to and exploring new routes of information. College has enabled me to do that in so many ways and I am grateful for it.

craft conversations

The downside of my campus involvement is that I have had less time to devote to my novel projects—although I have a Creative Writing class this semester. It has given me multiple opportunities to branch out into poetry and short fiction. Here’s an excerpt that emerged from an in-class writing exercise:

In summer, the skeletons buried in the meadow recognize the shadows of their lives.

The girl is more restless—if you can call her a “girl” when she was lowered into the earth in her mother’s arms, hardly a night after her birth. She has never let go of the lily-green blanket that followed her into death. Her mother knitted it with such tenderness through the raging winter and the suffocating summer. Even as the fabric splits along the seams, the girl’s knuckle-bones curl around the hemmed dandelion seeds. She would give anything to follow those white-feathered birds into the greedy air, into a half-remembered sun.

What I’ve lacked in creative writing, I’ve made up for in journaling. Since I moved into college, I’ve penned 54 pages! I began this journal at the end of May and it is already out of pages. Someday, I want to compile my journals digitally. I love having a physical record of what I was feeling or doing at any given time, but over time it becomes harder to cross-reference entries.

I recently began another round of editing for Pawn—optimistically, I will have the second round of beta reader signups out in late October or November. If you are interested in reading for my feral fairy tale retelling, then I suggest keeping an eye on my Instagram for more updates!

books, media & recs

READING: I read Icon & Inferno by Marie Lu (4/5 stars). It was a fast-paced, entertaining read on all fronts. No one writes romantic tension like she does. I would have liked to see more closure in the main relationship, but since when is Marie Lu known for giving her readers happy endings?

The next book I read was The Brothers Hawthorne by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (3/5 stars). If I’m being honest, I read this just for Grayson Hawthorne. Sometimes I think that JLB shot herself in the foot when she made the Hawthorne family tree so complicated, and this book didn’t help my confusion. I also didn’t like how JLB tended to tell rather than show in this book. Otherwise, it was fairly entertaining—and I hope to find more Grayson content in The Grandest Game.

I’m currently 200 pages into the biography Chasing Beauty: The Life of Isabella Stewart Gardner by Natalie Dykstra. It chronicles the life of the Boston philanthropist and art collector. Given that I have a WIP that concerns art forgery and art crime—partly inspired by the greatest art theft in history that occurred in the museum she founded—I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to read this book. It is both fascinating and intricately detailed. I’m impressed by the level of work that must have gone into this book. My only critique is that sometimes the writing is too focused on details, but otherwise, I am enjoying it.

MUSIC: I’ve had Lizzy McAlpine’s album Older on repeat. Something about her voice is so exposed and fragile, yet also healing. My favorite songs from Older are “Older”, “Vortex”, “I Guess”, and “All Falls Down”. I don’t understand people who shun this album but adore five seconds flat. They’re missing out on some true gems.

MOVIES/SHOWS: What do you know—I have a section for visual media this time!

I watched Thor: Ragnarok with my suitemates. They were impressed that I already knew the aspects of Norse mythology (thank you, Rick Riordan). I really enjoyed the well-balanced moments of action and comedy. The number of times that Thor was electrocuted in this movie was frankly impressive. My favorite character is probably Loki because of his charisma.

I also watched Dancing With the Stars with my friends. To be honest, I just watched for the Olympian athletes, and I’m happy to report that they didn’t disappoint! My favorite performances were by Ilona Maher, Stephen Nedoroscik, and Jenn Tran. I thought it was extremely funny how at the end, the con artist Anna Delvey (who danced with a bedazzled ankle monitor) said she’d take away “nothing” from the show. With her indifferent attitude, it’s no surprise that she got voted off.

life updates

As autumn makes her presence known, one of my favorite things to do on campus is watch the squirrels. I’ve never seen squirrels that are so unafraid of humans: they’ll come within one or two feet of you without bolting. They often scamper across the sidewalks, the quad, or up the pine trees. I find them hilarious. I’m filming small clips of the squirrels, which I plan to edit into a compilation at the end of the semester. A few weeks ago, I bought a black squirrel stuffie and named it Gilbert (after Gilbert Blythe).

Living at college has made me more sensitive to the changing seasons; I noticed when the first leaves on the trees began to turn gold and red. I have no doubt that this autumn will be a beautiful one! I am looking forward to more changes—and of course, to more new experiences.

I hope to carve out more time for writing in October—easier said than done, I know. I’m happy that autumn has come at last, because it is by far my favorite season. I’ll be taking Anne Shirley’s words into the next month: “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”

farewell

Thank you so much for reading to the end of this newsletter. I can’t describe how grateful I am for your readership. If you enjoyed this issue of Musings, you can do the following to support me and my writing:

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• Comment a word to be etymologized in a future newsletter :)

GOODBYE. A salutation in parting, from godbwye (1570s), a contraction of God be with ye (late 14th century), influenced by good-day, good evening, etc; a noun since the 1570s.

Good morning, good afternoon, or good night, whenever this finds you—

Calliope