Hello, my name is Ashley, and I am currently a senior at Cornell College who is double-majoring in Studio Art and Creative Writing. I am a tour guide on campus who’s involved in a plethora of clubs around campus. Additionally, I am a student-athlete on the Cornell Women’s Tennis team. During my tenure at Cornell I have been involved with almost every club on campus, but to keep things short I will only list the ones which I am actively participating in this year. Some extracurricular activities and clubs which I am involved in this year include Zumba, Deepwater, Church Choir, Salt, Lifting Club, Lyrically inclined, Chess and Games, Figure Drawing, Environmental club, and Ski and Snowboard club as the vice president.
Throughout my time as an English Major at Cornell College, I have participated in many writing and poetry classes on campus. Usually, at the end of each week, I try to participate in an event on Cornell’s campus called “Free-Write Fridays”. During Free-Write Friday’s, students are encouraged to work on their own personal writing while being surrounded by peers. Some of my most productive writing times for my novel occurred while I sat eating freshly baked brownies at Free-Write Friday. Being surrounded by peers who were also dedicated to their writing really helped me stay motivated to complete my own writing!
Whilst I have taken many writing classes at Cornell, I had never previously had the time to detail an entire novel. During my third block Novel Writing class, I delved into developing my own novel. The class gave me plenty of time to truly center myself in developing the world of my novel.
The novel which I began to develop was based on an idea which I had been ruminating on for years, but had never actually put pen to paper for. I genuinely enjoyed being able to truly sit down and create the storyboard and plot for my characters, which I had only ever imagined within my mind’s eye. I changed the idea of my novel several times, eventually landing on a futuristic dystopia with a charismatic arch villain.
The process of writing my novel was actually extremely enjoyable! I had a ton of fun bouncing my plot ideas off my peers and friends, and getting feedback based on the suggestions that they offered. Usually, when I write, it is a very isolated process, but during my time writing my novel, I really appreciated being able to hear what my peers had to say about my work.
I believe that through writing my novel, my passion for writing creatively was re-ignited. Towards the end of my education, I had been viewing my English major as supplementary to my art. A topic which I enjoyed, but did not often prioritize outside of class. My novel, however, reminded me of the joys of writing, and why I chose English as a possible career path in the first place.
Long term, I hope to work for the Walt Disney Company in their animation department. My English major would help me to create story boarding for characters and write backstory. And if I decide that the animation department is not for me later down the road, I would genuinely enjoy being a free-lance creative writer!
Wherever the future leads me, I am glad that I was finally able to write my own novel. I am proud of how my writing turned out, and I hope I can continue to write and edit my piece in the future! And who knows, one day I may even publish!
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