Welcome to the latest installment of MFA|EDA’s 4th Friday Alumni 6Pack. We are pleased to continue the tradition with a lovely and timely tribute from Nadia Stevens from the Class of 2018.
Transmitted from a hole in a mountain on the light side of the moon:
1.
I still remember the magic.
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2.
Tonight is the night – 2019 MFA|EDA thesis season is being kicked off by a slate of bright, brilliant, and beautiful MFA’ers (shout out to Jinyu Liu, Jacob Moss, and Hannah Faye Waleh). Congratulations. I can’t wait to see you and the work that you’ve created.
That means, symbolically at least, it’s been exactly one year since my cohort completed and presented our thesis projects to each other; our community, our friends, our families, and our mentors.
It’s a year later, and my horoscope says I’m in the middle of a massive transformation cycle. For these and other reasons, I’ve been reflecting quite a bit.
So…in honor and in celebration of today, and of MFA|EDA’ers past, present and future…here are some of those reflections.
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3.
We wore our revelations and our fragility on our sleeves like badges of honor; and with all the doors to our internal worlds torn off the hinges.
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4.
I still remember how Katie King’s gentle, warm curiosity transformed pain into connection by articulating mental illness. She filled us with compassion, respect and love. Then Theresa Scott’s bandaged, charcoal-drawn heart raced and slowed to communicate the depth in between the worst call and the moment hope returned.
Lexi Bass took us into her subconscious to teach us how a beautiful mind can process traumatic events. She weaved such an intricate web of metaphor, narrative, visuals and soundscape; eventually the edges of the screen disappeared and I had disappeared inside.
And I could never forget when Shambhavi Kaul introduced Laurids Sonne; she described his instinct with a bolex, and his unceasing passion for life. Then Laurids took us into spaces only he could find; large and small, peaceful and chaotic.
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5.
I could go on, but I’m sure this is getting weird by now.
Suffice it to say, these moments resonate in my mind as the very essence of beauty and purpose. To see and be seen. To find peace after pain.
I’ve spent much of my life, and a lot of the last year considering the meaning of things. Trying to discern, in no uncertain terms, what will bring me fulfilment.
I’m beginning to accept that maybe it isn’t that simple. But also that maybe seeking out more of these magical moments might bring me a little bit closer.
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6.
I realized a couple things as wrote this. One is that I miss you guys dearly. Another is that I miss you guys dearly.
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Next month:
Michaela O’Brien (’16).
See you then.
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