I’m going to post my first entry on the blog: Barcelona or Bust to introduce this specific blog. It was after and during this blog that I received my Master’s in Fine Arts in Creative Writing in Barcelona, Spain. Making memories is what my life has been all about. Enjoy!
On June 29, 2017 I wrote:
Not only do I like the alliteration of my little title: Barcelona or Bust, but it seems fitting. The “Or Bust” phrase was used by people during the Great Depression when they went west to find their fortune. Either they would make it, or go broke trying. Broke=busted, a popular phrase at the time. I remember seeing signs on people’s cars when I was little (I was not around during the Great Depression, so stop even thinking that) where they would write “Oregon or Bust” “California or Bust” and such. It pretty much meant that they were going on vacation and would make it, or die trying. And although theirs was written for fun, there were many people during the Dust Storm (See John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath”) who depended on their trip westward to live. For them, it WAS a life and death prospect.
But for me, it’s an ending to my quest for my Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing. I will be in Barcelona in less than 12 hours. I will be situated in my hotel room that will be my oasis within the beautiful world of an area of Spain called Catalunya. Within that room I will perfect my 15 minute presentation; a requirement of my degree. I will practice reading my thesis (book) out loud to my peers (another 15 minute presentation), and I will try to prepare myself for another ending that is designed to be a beginning to my creative life. It’s been tough, though. These last two-plus years haven’t been easy trying to juggle a new and extremely challenging job, my dad’s death, family commitments, trying to stay healthy during it all, and still trying to find time to develop my creative writing craft and lifestyle. What may or may not come to bite me in the ass sometime in the future is what the people during the Great Depression worried about: money. I may never pay my education off, but at least it’s something that I’ll have forever. Well, yes, the bill, but also the education itself. And the memories. Incredible memories of learning experiences and of wonderful people I’ve met along the way.
So, as I sit in the Chicago O’Hare Airport munching on my cheesy popcorn from “Nuts on Broakway” I say: Barcelona or Bust! And then wipe my cheesy hands on my pants.
