Young Writers Society

What do you study? What level?

Do you like it?

Is it all you thought it would be?

What's the easiest/hardest thing about it?

Do you think it has an effect on your writing?

I'm studying English (Translation), and I'm currently on my year abroad in England. I will get my Bachelor's degree next year when I go back to Finland. After that, I'll continue straight on to do my Master's, which will take me two more years!

I absolutely love it. Translation is the perfect subject for me, and it's been as great as I thought it would be! Actual translation is on hold for me now, since I obviously can't do Finnish in England, but it's still great to be able to do classes here that I wouldn't get to take at home. I'm doing a poetry class, for example!

It's difficult to say what's the easiest thing about it. The easiest thing is to find the motivation, I guess! The hardest thing is to make the texts sound as natural in the target language as they were in the source language. You have to translate an English text and make the Finnish version sound like it was the original, if the author had known Finnish enough to write it. I love it, but sometimes it's challenging!

I think it might have an effect on my writing, because I might think "How would I translate this?" xD

What do you study? What level?

I'm doing my Master's in Biotechnology. I started grad school right after completing my undergrad in biotech engineering back in India.

Although I am looking at biotech-legal-research related consulting positions; I would eventually earn a PhD in the life sciences, perhaps cell/molecular biology.

Do you like it?

Yes! Absolutely! One of the coolest things is that I'm at the frontier of science and learning so many cool things about humans and the world we live in.
Coming to grad school in the US has been a huge eye-opener about the opportunities and different tracks I can orient my degree towards.

Is it all you thought it would be?

Nope! Not in the least. While my undergrad degree was sort of an extension of all the "biotech" I learned in school, grad school has shown me the possibilities of medical sciences, translational research, bioengineering, nanobiotech, entrepreneurship, legal aspects of healthcare, global perspectives and views.

What's the easiest/hardest thing about it?

Easiest... I don't know. I mean, I love the understanding of how humans function from a molecular perspective, and you can totally boast this knowledge to non-bio peeps, but this si something that comes only when you enjoy it.

Hardest, there are lots of things. One is training to think of of yourself as a cross between a scientist/engineer/pharmacist. It's like a balance between the different thinking skills required.

One a more practical level, I, personally, am awful at understanding economics/finances and all that and hence it can cloud my judgement on certain things.
Working with animals can be a sad experience. In some kinds of research, you might want to sacrfice mice,rabbits etc. Or inject them. It can also be gross if you want to work in diagnostic labs, and work with human feces/urine samples, perform tests on those or grow bacteria from human blood etc.

Do you think it has an effect on your writing?

Absolutely! I tend to use sciencey themes a lot in my fiction!

What do you study? What level?
I study both English Literature and Creative Writing (double major FTW!). I'm in the last year of my bachelors degree, and intend to go right on to get my masters of fine arts in creative writing.

Do you like it?
Absolutely head-over-heels in love with it!

Is it all you thought it would be?
Yes and no. I have had the pleasure to study with wildly intelligent, wonderfully talented professors at my university which is something I never could have hoped for when thinking I wanted to study writing and literature. One qualm I do have with my program, though, is that even the creative writing degree is very literature-heavy and while I love literature I wish I had a bit more writing-focused courses to take. Also my program has no specific application process, so anyone who wants to study creative writing is allowed to (granted they get into the university) which is awesome for the diversity, but I've found I don't really always have challenging peers to work with. But I guess that's where YWS comes in! c:

What's the easiest/hardest thing about it?
Easiest: I get to do what I love, which makes everything easier to manage. Plus I've always found writing essays and such to be very easy.

Hardest: literary theory o_o dear lord if you've never spent a few hours slogging through a dense piece of theory that is just so convoluted for the sake of it you're not really living. Or not really loathing your entire existence. It's one of the two.

Do you think it has an effect on your writing?
Undoubtedly! Though sometimes I do wish I had studied something else alongside writing, or instead of writing. While I have loved my degree and am excited to continue it, I think there is value in pursuing other interests and letting those broaden your horizons. You can learn writing outside of a classroom, especially with wonderful communities like YWS to benefit from!

What do you study? What level?

Ethnology and Cultural (Social) Anthropology and Art History (we don't have major/minor setup..it's pretty much a joint thing, huh).
First year of uni, so BA in the making xP

Do you like it?

I do and I don't. It's really interesting and I can research cool things and it's already opened my eyes to some things.. but at the same time, it's not directly writing/art - related (not in creativity sense, that is), and it's not abroad and in English, and those facts can't be overlooked for the sake of good things.

Is it all you thought it would be?

Yes. Seeing it was my first choice after those studies abroad, I am glad to see it's not drowning me in unexpected bad things. In some cases, though, it's not what I wanted or expected, but that's just because our Unis are the way they are :p

What's the easiest/hardest thing about it?

Easiest thing is, for me, to remember and know it all with basically nothing but going to classes; it's all very connected to each other, even between the programmes, and studying it as a whole rather than every course individually makes it really simple. For me. But then again, I passed our first exam while majority of people failed it, so yeah.

Hardest thing is probably knowing Art History is officially one of the most complicated subjects on the Uni, and 6 people already dropped out (it's been a month <.< ), haha
No, but seriously.. hardest thing might be not interrupting the teachers with opposing theories and thoughts - because regardless of what they say, they don't like us doing that ._.

Do you think it has an effect on your writing?

Everything I do tends to have an effect on my writing.
And as far as Uni goes, I surely hope so, seeing I joined it with writing in mind c:
Character development - and cultures and worlds development, these programmes were made for them. Plus I get to explore things and get in contact with lots of new people if I play my cards right, and that tends to affect my writing too (as YWS had proven) :3

@Lauren2010 - I miss lit. theory! It was probably my favorite (and least favorite) class.

What do you study? What level?
I'm almost finished with my masters in library and information science. Like, I finish the class I'm on, hope my portfolio passes muster (hit the first hurdle!), and I'm done! If all goes well, I'll have my degree sometime late January/February.

Do you like it?
I mostly like it, yes. There are days, though... I mean, it basically justifies my tendency to go off on research binges that keep me awake until 3am, so.

Is it all you thought it would be?
Yes and no. Elements are exactly what I expected, but my program let me take a slew of tech classes and some teaching and a bunch of other things that are outside the (outdated) stereotype of a librarian, and I love that most of all.

What's the easiest/hardest thing about it?
Easiest... oh lord, I'm not sure? Like, I think part of this is because I am one of the youngest people in the program still, at least at the point I am now. So, there were classes where I felt like I was sitting through repetitive hell, because so much I had already learned before, be it on my own or at uni. So, it was easy, but also boring and I had to force myself to do school work. The last few semesters have been much better, simply because I was working outside any of the required classes, so everything was much more interesting, too. Hardest was probably the times I just did not want to do uni work, and had to force myself to.

Do you think it has an effect on your writing?
In the respect that I've barely written at all lately, heck yes. That aside, though, not too much? I mean, I can now easily research anything I want to death (not that I didn't before, but I'm way faster at it, now), but I think my BA (Literature) had much more of an effect, if only because I was constantly reading and playing with my own writing at that point.

What do you study? What level?

I take Biology, Chemistry, Math and Literature as my core subjects, and I'll be taking my A levels next year. I also take the General Paper (which is like english, I guess, but more on the argumentative-discursive side, like there isn't any narrative text at all) and Project Work ( a uniquely Singaporean A-Level subject)

Do you like it?

YES. I decided on my combination long before I came to Junior College, and it felt completely natural writing these subjects in the application form. Even now, one year (or more than halfway) down the road, despite dying multiple times as a result of assignments, I still love taking these subjects, and liking them has made school for me much easier.

Is it all you thought it would be?

In most ways. Unlike many of my peers, I came in with a mindset to not be surprised by the harshness of the curriculum, and to treat it as though there wasn't a change at all. So it was pretty much how I took it to be.

However, my expectations really dropped a lot after going through this long year, because sometimes you can barely reach the halfway mark on the test and still get an A because of the moderation, showing how hard it is to do well when my expectations were in the 75-80 range at first.
I also had to give up on applying for the H3 Cirriculum for chemistry, which is something I really wanted, but didn't have the academic standard to obtain ( )

What's the easiest/hardest thing about it?

The hardest thing would probably be the sheer depth of each subject, and also coping with the many commitments that we have, such as leadership duties, Co-Cirricular activities, and physical trainings.

Do you think it has an effect on your writing?

I haven't been able to write at all because of my schedule, which is probably why I turn up during the holidays waiting for inspiration.


I hope that changes next year though, and I get to write more often.

What do you study? What level?
I tend to study anything I'm interested in since I'm still in High School, Law, Psycology, Mythology, Norse in particular, Leadership, and Philosphey I've recently taken an interest in Biology and Creative Writing. Mine you, I'm not studying anything extensively to Major in or anything.
Do you like it?
Indeed, just more stuff to learn about in my spare time and enough to keep me busy for the next year.
Is it all you thought it would be?
Yes, no, I've yet to have a true judgement on the recent interests but the others, yes each and everyone I exacted it to be what it was.
What's the easiest/hardest thing about it?
Law: The hardest part about it is having to do extensive studying on a legal book and have to keep in mind every possible detail on a case. All legal circumstances and what not, Law can involve quite a bit of math but only having to deal addition and subtracktion when talking about sueing someone else.
Psycology: This takes a lot of relating and understanding to properly make use of, then there is the extensive studying that has to be done to understand the brain and why someone does what, studying Human Nature, and learning about someones past since the past can affect the way someone thinks.
Mythology: More for pleasure studying than anything, it's interesting in a way to see how cultures affect the myths around it and how it relates to the present day today.
Leadership: This one I'm studying because of my JROTC class, I got really interested in this cause Leadership involves a lot more then just telling people what to do. It includes common sense as well, speaking clearly, studying, and other stuff among that.
Philosphey: I've always been the wiser when it comes to this subject, I'm told by a lot of my friends that I am wise, even though I honestly don't consider my self all that wise. I do believe however, that this goes hand in hand with Psycology.
Do you think it has an effect on your writing?
It can, and will eventually show though.

@Dante, your highschool sounds awesome.

I am planning to do MBA from Thunderbird laureate schools. I really hope this secures my future and land me a good job.

What do you study? What level?

Well, I am in high school final year (10th grade). There are no particular choices actually other then those two subjects that we get to choose ourselves which are language and elective( we can choose between adv. maths and computer). There are four compulsory subjects- English(grammar and literature), Gen. Maths, Gen. Science(Physics, Chemistry, Bio) and Social Science(history, geography, civics, economics).

Do you like it?

Well, I do like it. But, seeing that it is high school, it has its own highs and lows. Like if I like the subject, then the teacher might be horrible at it and not being the popular types also affects my opinion. Being a loner though I have my own benefits and that is the teachers pay extra attention to you as they are not able to decipher how you really are(given that they cannot judge me by the companions I keep which are none! ). And yeah we won't get a formal farewell actually we won't get a farewell at all [that system no longer exists]

Is it all you thought it would be?

Well yes it is exactly as I thought it would be thankfully. Although our couple of awesome teachers retired this year . The studies and all are so so I think. Nothing unexpected has happened anyway.

What is the easiest/hardest thing about it?

The easiest thing is that no one minds if break a few rules as its our last year anyways Also we get to amusement park directly from school and yes field trips too
Then the teachers are very helpful and even if they do not recognise/know you, they are ever ready to help and clear our doubts.Also the most easiest would be the physical training class. I love it! We get to play whatever games we want from basketball to table tsnnis. I play only basketball and badminton though.

Hardest thing is studies!! Like in one subject itself we have two three subjects thrown together and this year we have to give another major exam instead of the usual minor one. Then also we have our friends...usually this year no one remains enemies to anyone. All become friends as they are all gonna go away and that is the hardest thing- to leave them behind.

Do you think it affects your writing?

Definitely! High school is another rollercoaster ride and whether you are happy or swamped because of your studies or sad that you broke up with your bff or got told off byyour teacher in front of the whole class...everythinv affects my writing (and drawing too since I draw as well).