#transparency

From the new series on Fiction Advocate– 

How I Got Here: You Learn, I Pay

Privilege is a topic that doesn’t always receive the subjectivity and nuance it deserves. In “How I Got Here,” writers reflect on their experience of privilege (or lack thereof) in their writing careers. We hope these personal essays will help us appreciate the complexities of individual experience and view each other in a clearer light.

An MFA is a shot in the dark. It is a degree that costs thousands and thousands of dollars to pursue and yet has absolutely zero (0) guarantee of any type of employment. You get an MFA out of sheer love or delusion. When I applied to writing programs in the fall of 2011, I did so simply because I knew I loved writing and wanted to get better at it. I also applied because I had, and have had for my entire life, my own personal patrons of the arts.

There have been many calls lately for writers and artists to be more transparent about their financial situations, from the Twitter hashtag #PublishingPaidMetoessay collectionstothis very series. I remember when I first read Ann Bauer’s essay on Salon about how her heart surgeon husband “sponsors” her writing career and how much I appreciated her honesty. So, let me lay it all out there for you. When it comes to education, the rule in my family is: they pay, no questions asked. It’s like that scene in The Sopranos, when Meadow’s boyfriend tries to pay for Tony’s dinner and Tony is pissed. But instead of “You eat, I pay,” it’s: “You learn, I pay.”

Education has always been a big deal in my family. Both of my parents have Master’s degrees, my mother’s specifically in Music Education, which she used as a piano teacher. Both of my grandmothers achieved higher ed degrees at a time when it wasn’t common for women to even complete high school. My paternal grandfather nearly completed a PhD from MIT in engineering (everything but the dissertation); my maternal grandfather dropped out of law school, but he did so to take over a local driving school because he loved to teach kids how to use cars. Classes, studying, learning, teaching, books—I was taught that these were the most valuable types of currency. I knew from a very young age that there were limits to what I was allowed to ask for in a toy store or a clothing boutique, but the local bookstore? The word “no” did not exist there. In middle school, I memorized my dad’s credit card number so I could order books on the Barnes & Noble website without bothering him (so advanced for 1998!), and he never questioned what I was buying, as long as it was books. He also never questioned how much I was buying because he had access to that other, more literal type of currency—money.

Read the rest of the essay on Fiction Advocate. 

Here is where I will keep a regularly updated list of eco-friendly initiatives and companies that are fighting against climate change. 

KEY

 =I actively support 

 =I research often or keep up with almost daily

 = I cannot support because you have to be an employee, because I cannot afford it right now, or because its still in development 

= I would like to support in the future

1.Ecosia (search engine, plants trees, negative emission, transparent)

2.The Ocean Cleanup (initiative, cleaning the oceans of plastic, unsure about emission, transparent)

3.4ocean (bracelet company, cleaning the oceans of plastic and recycling them into bracelets, unsure about emission, transparent) 

4.AIR-INK (ink company, turning air pollution into artist quality ink, unsure about emission, unsure about transparency)

5.Patagonia (clothing company, slow fashion brand, I think they are zero emission, transparent)

6.Everlane (clothing company, slow fashion brand (some of their clothes are made of recycled water bottles), unsure about emission but I think its low, transparent)

7.Athleta (clothing company (activewear), sustainable fashion, unsure about emission, unsure about transparency, unsure about ethical treatment of employees (do some research))

If you’d like to suggest any companies/initiatives to add to the list, or would like to correct any info about them, please leave a comment :)