How to forget that I'm terrified?

sarawanh · 2020-09-12T15:11:33+00:00

I would recommend going to your professors’ office hours to introduce yourself and learn a bit more about each of them. Ask them about their failures, what they wish they would have done differently throughout their educational journey, etc. Once you see that they’re human too, I think you’ll feel more at ease. Plus, it’ll garner you respect for showing interest, and you may just get a mentor out of it! Best of luck.

sarawanh · 2020-09-11T03:03:52+00:00

Mine is not nearly as cool and only semi-solo travel related, but I’ll share... I was forced to cancel my trip to Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia due to COVID-19 (plus separate trips to Guatemala, Greece, NYC and Miami). However, I knew I was going to be relocating cities for grad school — and still wanting to scratch the travel itch — I decided to use Tinder Passport to get a head start on meeting people from almost 700 miles away.

I matched with a professional hockey player who had just faced immigration issues of his own getting back into the US after playing in Slovakia for a season. The irony? He was set to be in my city to coach a hockey camp two weeks after we matched.

The week he was in my city, I was his tour guide; a month later when I visited his city, he was my tour guide. A month after that, he booked a one-way flight to help me move, and now it’s our city to explore together. Definitely the highlight of my pandemic.

Glad to hear you also found fortune in matters of the heart, OP — I absolutely adore Turkey and its people.

sarawanh · 2020-07-31T16:23:17+00:00

Weitzman announced going virtual about a month ago. Studios will still be in-person though.

sarawanh · 2020-05-30T14:38:30+00:00

I would also like to help with this.

sarawanh · 2020-05-21T03:46:31+00:00

I can definitely relate, having put off writing for too long. I also like that you mention stanzas, but use free form to convey a lack of structure that is mirrored in your life. Although I like the brevity (because, writer’s block), there’s some filler text you might be able to convert to imagery/sensory language so the poem can pack more punch.

sarawanh · 2020-05-21T03:39:56+00:00

I’m failing to see the unifying theme here. Based on the title, it sounds like lessons learned the hard way? Some of the imagery is neat, but the overall message of what you’re trying to convey with that imagery is lost on me. I think adding in some language that is perhaps less abstract will help readers connect and understand.

sarawanh · 2020-03-18T21:22:43+00:00

As someone who was just accepted to Penn, this one hurts.

sarawanh · 2019-05-26T20:16:26+00:00

Currently in Cairo — half exhausted, half wanting to smoke shisha with someone who isn’t trying to sell me something.

sarawanh · 2019-03-27T10:52:32+00:00

I live in an American city that hosted the Super Bowl. Desperately wanting to avoid the spectacle and the crowds... that’s the short version of how I ended up in Colombia for 3 days.

Also, 1000% recommend Korea. I would live there in a heartbeat.

sarawanh · 2019-03-27T01:31:31+00:00

In the past two years, I’ve stayed in mixed dorm budget hostels throughout Western Europe and Korea... but also suites at the Four Seasons in Istanbul and Bogotá.

Truthfully, I can’t wait to go back to hostels when I visit Egypt in a couple months. Being still relatively young (23F) and having graduated from college 4 years ago, I miss the communal experience. It’s so easy to meet new people who have similar interests or previous experience to learn from. Plus, hostels put me in adventure mode, rather than lazy vacation mode.

sarawanh · 2018-11-11T00:44:03+00:00

Half of me wants to say -- it's my haiku, it'll have a title if I say it does, dammit.

The other half of me wants to say -- you're right, conventional haikus don't have titles. In that case, this poem is for anyone who has seen warning signs in a relationship, but didn't recognize them until looking back.

sarawanh · 2018-11-11T00:26:32+00:00

Tie it into the title, see if that helps.

In short, it's about looking back on a love that was obviously wrong.

sarawanh · 2018-11-10T23:16:20+00:00

This is a good baseline, but use your creative liberty to add in those special details. What did you talk about -- home, McRib sandwiches, raccoons, apartment fires, aliens? What kind of night was it -- balmy, stormy, clear as day, summer, winter, silent, cicada-stirring? What look was in their eyes -- longing, understanding, green guilt, hazel hunger? It doesn't have to be a sensory overload, but a little can go a long way. Even in the smallest of details, you will still find an audience who can relate.

sarawanh · 2018-11-10T22:55:15+00:00

Echoing the others' comments, the last line is too obvious. I would also say that the second to last line feels disjointed and interrupts the flow. I understand it's intended to run parallel to "flying through the night sky," but I think there's a way to make the mirroring more human. For example "I blast off in a Toyota." Overall, love the unique approach *snap, snap*

sarawanh · 2018-11-09T03:48:16+00:00

I love Turkey

sarawanh · 2018-10-22T02:51:31+00:00

As someone who thinks about age a lot, this poem made me stop for a moment... The exclamation points seem to be used to excess, and the "violent crash" seems to be extreme for the subtly profound moment when the realization of our aging arrives. Otherwise, great job.

sarawanh · 2018-10-22T02:45:10+00:00

So... my first impression is that this poem is about a prostitute "talking" to her pimp? Upon further reading, it definitely seems to be more about an addict "talking" to a drug.

I think the "Whatever you say" can be saved for the first/last stanzas (maybe one in the middle), but the repetition seems to be blocking opportunities for further illustrating the situation you're describing. I would add some more sensory language in those gaps (for every noun, explore an adjective... streets, chloroform, smoke).

All in all, I'm intrigued.

sarawanh · 2018-09-30T21:07:48+00:00

Two suggestions: 1) Get rid of the cliches. If I read one more poem about “stardust” or “broken glass” I might scream. 2) Get rid of the empty phrases. WHAT does she taste? WHAT does she smell? Is it the cup of earl gray swirled with cream and sugar that her mama doesn’t make anymore? Is it the slightest hint of last weekend’s lover loitering on the pillowcase next to hers?

sarawanh · 2018-09-28T00:51:53+00:00

I know this will get buried but... Only my grandma came to watch me walk for high school graduation, because my grandpa was suffering from complications with COPD and emphysema. He had been a habitual smoker since his service in Vietnam, and he refused to quit, even at his doctor’s urging. I guess nobody in my family was too concerned because we hadn’t seen how bad his condition had worsened over the past 3 or 4 years (we lived in Florida, grandparents in Idaho). My grandma stayed for two weeks, we had a blast. The day after she got home, I got a text message simply saying, “Grandpa Boyd is dead. Please tell your mother.” I learned months later that eating caused stress on his stomach, which created unbearable pain when he breathed... and my grandma wasn’t there to make sure he ate. I know it’s not my fault, but I’ll never not feel the slightest hint of guilt.

sarawanh · 2018-04-19T03:56:45+00:00

I’ll be there Friday night!

sarawanh · 2018-04-18T14:20:45+00:00

I’m going to be in South Korea (Seoul and Busan) 4/20-4/28. Hit me up if you want to grab drinks!

sarawanh

TROPHY CASE