I write for the same reasons I read: to provide that ineffable sense of connection with others - strangers - through words. My career as a psychotherapist similarly relies upon words to foster connection with the goal being healing. Writing can do the same - ease loneliness, foster connection, provoke self examination, and take us on miraculous journeys out of our own perspectives - all through the art of storytelling. I love the challenge and the triumph of finding the right words. I love the effort required to describe grief, rage, horror, trauma, or just plain life, sifting through adjectives and analogies, trying them on and tossing them out until the right fit happens. When it is spot on, it is magical - transforming even brutal emotion into beautiful phrases. I love when prose borders upon poetry, the words so perfectly evocative, the image feels real. We can taste the coffee, smell the rain. I love the quiet solitude of my writing process, eliciting the part of me that is creative, focused, and holds the story. My conscious mind goes on an archeological excavation, uncovering bits and bobs of storyline. Some of them pan out; others are duds. When the stars line up and I unlock the plot, it's like a runner's high: I enter the zone and the words just flow. I can write unimpeded by self doubt, just plugged in and uncensored. Sure, later the critical voice rereads and wrinkles her nose, but getting that first draft out is pure magic. However, I can do better. I can channel Hemingway or Joyce, but I need to choose which one. Finding my voice and developing it is one of my challenges, exacerbated by the echoes of my past work as a ghost writer, where my voice is not valuable but my ability to be a chameleon is. Finding my style and then honoring it and honing it is a central aspect of why I need to further my education. I also need to further my education in a very specific way. As much as I love the poetical qualities of fiction writing, the lovely cadence word choice can offer... I need to write nonfiction as well. I need to hone my journalistic chops, as I want to more intimately link my hobbies - nature photography, hiking, and wildlife watching - with my writing. And I need to practice and refine my skills with regard to distillation and summary for the lay audience. I want to explore the world of science writing, and this is, at present, a bit out of my wheel house. As inspired as I am, I know I need guidance, instruction, and support as I dip my toes into this arena. This scholarship would make that education possible.