Leaving the Lied

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​Lied Lodge & Conference Center. Nebraska City, Nebraska. July 22, 2018.
 
Over the course of the past two years, I have lived at the Lied Lodge for fifty days during five residencies framing four semesters while I pursued my MFA in creative writing with people who have become my closest friends, who have become my new family filled with such love and life, filled with such passion. The UNO MFA faculty and students alike have helped me find my way, not only in my writing life but in my whole life. Packet deadlines. Reading lists. Email messages. Conference Calls. A path carved out and a guiding hand.
 
Today I drove away from this place and these people I love so much. I’m a graduate now, they say. This is only the beginning, they say. It’s a time for celebration, they say. And I know it’s true. Still, my heart aches for what I leave behind. And I wonder at this path that stretches out before me, bending out of sight.