Carla Vever y Vargas
UIW Student
Was English and writing something that you knew you’d pursue? If not, what made you decide to go down that path?
Yes! Ever since I learned books could actually be a career I knew I wanted to pursue it. In high school, I was interested in other humanities and I also considered going into physics, but I always knew I was passionate about literature and although it was scary I knew it was the right path for me.
Any current projects you’d like to talk about? We hear you’re writing a novel.
Yes, you could say I am writing a novel, although right now I am more in the thinking part, not so much writing happening at the moment. But it is a queer coming of age set in my hometown, Guanajuato, México.
As an international graduate student, do you think your background or culture has had any impact on your educational endeavors?
100% I think my background gives me a different lens to analyze the literature I interact with and dictates what I gravitate towards. For example, I decided to do a concentration in Women and Gender’s Studies mainly because of the sociopolitical climate in México regarding womanhood and queerness. I can also understand literature written in Spanish and translingual literature so that definitely helps.
Did you ever have any doubts about pursuing your passions? What has helped you continue your studies?
Unfortunately, yes, I still doubt my choices all the time. I sometimes have imposter syndrome and the fear of not having financial stability is definitely there, but reminding myself that the real issue is capitalism definitely helps. I do not think that these fears are inherent to the arts or the humanities and I know I would not be this happy in any other career. Sometimes I just need to remind myself of that and remember that there are other people who believe in me and that I can rely on them.
Many people may argue that the Arts aren’t worth pursuing or that they’re dying careers. As a person in the field, how would you respond to those claims?
It all comes down to what you define as “worth it”, a lot of people just enjoy creating and I believe that doing what you want to do, what makes you happy is important and makes pursuing these careers important. I also think art is a great way to build community!
