Graduate School Application Personal Statement

            The written word can be a way of life to some people.  Some people enjoy writing, some people enjoy reading other people’s writing, and some people find their style through reading other people’s writing.  I consider finding what is in your heart and soul and configuring it into words a worthy profession.  I write every day; for school, in my journal, I am jotting down notes at this very moment to compose this statement.  The words flow from my fingertips; the nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs fill the computer screen.  Why do I write?  Because I love it.  Because writing completes me.  From what I have experienced as an undergraduate, I am certain that writing is something that can help me figure out where my life will take me, and I feel that if I am able to be a part of the MA in Writing and Publishing program at DePaul University, I will be to achieve a career in writing.  I realize that this specific program, in the manner that it will help me explore the many genres of creative writing, will help me achieve my educational and career goals. 

            I am currently earning my undergraduate degree at DePaul.  I am majoring in English with a concentration in Creative Writing, and I am have completed my minor in Spanish.  I have a GPA of 3.707 and I am graduating in March of 2016.  I have developed my writing skills throughout my educational career at DePaul through many projects: some being interviewing professionals to put together stories, analyzing poems and presenting them to the class in a group setting, and others in which the evaluating of literature led to strengthening my writing skills as an undergraduate.  In my leisure time I write creatively.  I compose poetry, fiction, and nonfiction whenever I have a free moment.  I have improved my creative writing skills by earning my minor in Spanish.  Through learning new vocabulary and a new form of grammar, my reading and writing skills have developed, and I am able to write in a language other than English.

With the skills I have gained and hope to gain through my education, I aspire to become a journalist or a freelance writer.  If I were to be able to participate in DePaul’s MA in Writing in Publishing Program, I would be better prepared to pursue a career in writing.  By increasing my creative writing skills, I would be better able to find my own creative style in freelance writing and journalism.  When I first started at DePaul, I had yet to define my writing style.  At this moment, my style can be defined as unique and with potential.  I think knowing your own style is one of the most important aspects of being a writer, and I am still in the process of trying to find mine.  I have gone out on a limb before for classes and have written something in a style completely different than my normal, knowing that others might not like or appreciate my work, just to see what feedback I might receive.  I would be able to develop the skills accompanying the professions of journalism and freelance writing in the classroom setting, through workshops, by receiving constructive criticism through the critiquing of my own work. I would also like to have the opportunity to critique other people’s work, so that my editing skills would improve.  I hope to have the skills necessary to be a journalist, at a newspaper located in or near Chicago, or to work as a freelance writer, so that I am able to work as an author of fiction, non-fiction, or poetry.  I hope to establish, through the program, a network of people that I am able to work with throughout my educational career at DePaul, so that I am able to supplement whatever career I may seek.

If I were to be a part of DePaul’s MA in Writing and Publishing program, I would devote my time and effort to the program.  I would devote myself to developing my writing skills, and I would strive to put forth my work and energy so that I would be a beneficial and hard-working member of the DePaul community.  I am certain that I want to devote myself to writing, and therefore I am certain that this program would be beneficial for me, and that I would be beneficial for this program, because of my passion for writing and learning, and the unique perspectives that I have.