2022 so far, Spalding, Denver, etc…
Hello again!
2022 has been absolutely crazy. Globally…don’t even get me started, there are simply too many things to be angry and dismayed about. To keep my soapbox brief: Americans please harass your representatives at every level of government to protect LGBTQIA+ rights & health, reproductive rights & health, and diverse & equitable education; everyone everywhere, please keep treating this pandemic seriously & wear masks, and do your best within your means to support communities currently entrenched in war & struggle like those in Ukraine & Sri Lanka.
In the personal, on top of working like crazy professionally and academically all spring: in January I caught a breakthrough case of Covid (thankfully just the Omicron variant, so a mild experience itself but did leave me with bad brain fog and fatigue for many months); in February I left the United States for the very first time to visit Vancouver, Canada which was absolutely incredible and inspired some late-summer plans to check out the central & eastern Great White North as well; in April my car got wrecked so I had to say goodbye to my beloved first vehicular baby; then, all balled up together in May, I said goodbye to lovely Oregon and hello to Colorado before heading out to Kentucky for my graduating residency at Spalding. So, on the 20th anniversary of the Sena Jeter Naslund-Karen Mann Graduate School of Writing, I completed my Master’s in Writing (and successfully dodged the end-of-session Covid outbreak - thank you masks)!
Now I’m finally back and all set up in Denver! I’m so excited to get immersed in the literary and arts scene here. Obviously will still be doing my best to be pandemic-safe, but after two years in some extreme isolation, my mental health is at the point that I NEED social & environmental enrichment to function. I’m sure I’ll get back to languishing in my natural hermit ways again some time, but for now, I’m ready to explore the Mile High City’s cafes, museums, gardens (botanical & beer), and libraries.
I hope you're all doing well. Happy Pride month and Indigenous Peoples History month! Everyone please stay safe, kind, inclusive, and educated.
xoxo,
Kylie