What Do You Do After a MA Program?

Fair warning: The title of this blog post is misleading. I do offer a bit of pithy advice for what to do after completing a MA program, but this post is honestly just a love letter to Ireland and the friends I made while abroad.

Even though I flew back home in May, I always knew I’d be back for graduation. Even when I handed in my dissertation in September, I still had graduation to look forward to. But now graduation has come and gone, and a new feeling has settled over me. I’m not sure I can define it to my own satisfaction, except to say that everything feels officially over. It was much more difficult saying goodbye to the Emerald Isle and my friends and classmates after a week than it was after a year.

I think it’s because there’s no academic obligation looming, insisting I return to Ireland. There’s a freedom in that, but that freedom works both ways: I can go whenever I want, but because it would really just be a vacation, it’ll be easier for the trip to be delayed or postponed. When I landed back in the States this time around, I was both terrified and excited by the realization that one day, I could fly to Ireland and just stay there.

I got into Limerick on January 15th, a Sunday afternoon. I nearly cried riding in the taxi to Isabel and Caoimhe’s place because it honestly felt like coming home. And then to see two of my dearest friends standing in their driveway, excited to see me, was overwhelming. I was so infinitely happy that I did cry. We hugged in the driveway and everything just felt better, just felt right. We walked onto campus and it was so bittersweet. I love the University of Limerick.

Caoimhe and Isabel were exemplary hostesses. They made sure I was fed and watered (plenty of pints). They gave me an entire room to myself with fresh sheets and towels.

On Monday, I was so jetlagged that I slept through most of the day. But Tuesday was graduation and what a perfect day it was. Conor got there in the morning and kicked my air mattress until I woke up. He’s one of the first friends I made in Ireland and he was my lead reader for both workshops, so we became close friends fast and I can honestly say he’s one of my favorite people that I’ve ever met. I can write this here because he’ll never read my blog. Caoimhe’s parents were kind enough to drive us to campus to pick up our robes, and then I was finally reunited with California Joe.

Especially during second semester, Joe made Ireland even greater than it had already been for me. He became my traveling partner and best friend. He’s so talented and kind, and he’s also hilarious. Joe is an accomplished playwright and a teacher. We talk a lot about going back and conquering at least one of the pilgrim paths in Ireland and maybe going for our doctorates (maybe).

All of us bustling about Caoimhe and Isabel’s house, running up and down stairs and in and out of bedrooms and bathrooms; even that was fun. Even that mundane experience was made absolutely magical by these people. We were all together again and it felt like no time had passed, like there had never been any distance between us.

Joe, Maeve, and Barbara: three of the coolest people ever. Caoimhe and Jane; so much wisdom in one picture. Write Club does Graduation: Isabel, Conor, Caoimhe, Joseph, and me.Graduation!

After graduation, there was much celebrating. I went to dinner at the Castletroy Park Hotel with — seriously — some of the greatest minds of my generation (or of any generation, really).

Anna, me, Aileen, Barbara, Laura, Jane, and Maeve. Mairin, Geraldine, Liz, Neil, Sarah Lou, and Bob.

Anna works at the university and wrote one of the most perfect and devastating short stories that I have ever read. How lucky am I to have been her lead reader first semester? Aileen is writing a searing memoir about the loss of her young son and watching her work take shape has been such an honor. Barbara writes with such an acerbic wit and intelligent humor. I was her lead reader for the second semester and I was so envious of her strong, unique, and engaging voice. She brought so much joy to the workshop, often making me laugh so hard that I cried. Laura is Barbara’s daughter and every bit as lovely. Jane; I want to be Jane when I grow up. She’s stylish in absolutely everything she does. And she’s so wise; she is writing a philosophical novel about one of the great paradoxes of human existence, and she’s doing so with so much grace and care. I feel I should also mention Jane wears a pink, fuzzy coat that’s the definition of class. And Maeve really and truly is just so fucking cool. She’s writing a YA novel that she actually might age up. Her work was engaging and it seemed effortless. And she’s already lived such a full life and she’s so willing to share that vitality and I remember we had lunch at Stables on campus one time and that conversation was one of the top ten conversations of my life.

The second table at dinner was filled with classmates from the other workshop module, so I didn’t get to see them as regularly, but every time I did see them, it was always a good time. Mairin is so quick-witted and brings such a light into the room, as does Geraldine. I got to know Geraldine a bit when we were both in the Creative Writers in the Community module. I admire her and Mairin so much because they’re so genuinely happy and pleasant to be around. Liz is Bob’s wife and I’ve only had the pleasure of meeting her once or twice. Then there’s Neil, the dentist from Cork who beautifully writes some of the most original prose ever. He’s hilarious, as well. Is there anything the man can’t do? I love that Neil came up to me at graduation without having seen me in months and said, “Class rep? A word?” and put me straight to work. Neil is so genuine and humble even though he’s enormously talented. He was nominated for an Irish Book Award. He’s a big deal, so he does in fact get to boss me around. And then there’s Sarah Lou, who just makes everything better. She’s wonderfully talented, effortlessly stylish, perpetually joyful; one of my favorite memories from Ireland is drinking with Sarah Lou for seven hours. And then Bob, who was the patriarch of the course. He was our respected leader with a wealth of experience and knowledge, and Bob is always a damn good time. Always.

After dinner, we went traipsing through Limerick in the thick, falling snow to Nancy’s for more pints and conversation and quality time spent together. It was an absolutely perfect evening and I wouldn’t change it at all. Unless I could make it last forever.

I think it’s safe to say that all of us felt a different kind of sadness this time around because the course is officially over. We’ve all graduated. So what next?

Jane, in all her wisdom and pink coat as she was leaving Nancy’s, says: “To keep the mastery.” So we’ll keep on writing and honing our craft. We’ll keep on reading. And we’ll keep on reaching out and talking with each other.

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