May 26, 2025

Grad School Dropout

Dear Reader,

I feel so much within me right now. So much changing, shifting, at the speed of lightning and also as slow as molasses. Both at once being true.

I will begin today with a beautiful announcement I have been hinting at but now has an official release date of March 2026 with Sounds True : The Practice of Attention

Writing this book has been the challenge and blessing of a lifetime, and weaves in a bit to my thoughts today. Stay tuned in this newsletter for cover reveal and pre orders in the coming months.

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I have had quite the journey with grad school the last few years, starting with a Quilt Studies certification program that quickly revealed itself to be boring, but also showed me how ready I was for school.

I then started my MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts at Goddard College in Vermont. Midway through the semester the entire school abruptly shut down.

I then started my MFA in Creative Writing at Naropa University, founded by Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, and Diane di Prima in the 70’s. In many ways my first year there was a dream. I loved my cohort, my professors, and the experience of being in school.

As I was preparing to spend three weeks in Boulder for the summer semester something wasn't sitting right and I have decided to take a leave of absence.

Things that I felt :

• I don’t like being away from home for three weeks, for the most part ten days - two weeks is my preference.

• I didn’t have an interest in being in Boulder specifically for that amount of time

• I want a more interdisciplinary grad school program, not something just for writing. Something where I can integrate dance and quilting more. While writing is a central modality to my work it often feels like not the work itself, but a pathway to tell about the work.

• I kept finding myself getting behind in school

• My Pilates journey has taken over and feels like a new direction I want to explore and I don’t want to lose that momentum : two of the trainings I want to do are in June

• By not going I could also go to my annual dance intensive MICI at Atland

Usually decisions like this I find to be easeful, but this one was really hard. 1/3 of the way through my degree it felt like a waste to quit/pause. But I also felt strongly in my body that returning to Colorado didn’t feel in the cards.

While the study of writing in this format did strengthen my own craft, I didn’t feel like it was bringing enough into my practice to stay.

I am not sure what is next for school, if I will seek out a different MFA path or pause while I continue to pursue my Pilates trainings. For now it is one step at a time. I feel grateful for the two semesters I dedicated to my writing, and glad to be stepping away.

The hardest part of removing myself wasn’t the chasm in my own commitment, it was the fear of what other people would think of me. Classic tornado Cody can’t stay committed to something and is always changing their mind.

Alas, this may also be my super power - to not stay until misery befalls me. To leave before the crash. To walk away before the burnout.

Staying didn’t feel right and neither did leaving, so I had to lean into the choice that allowed me the most ease and freedom.

I hope today you can find some of that ease in yourself. Whatever brings you closer to service, action, self care, and abundance. May it be so.

Things of Note :

🌼 Today we are hosting a CAVE DAY in Landscapes : A writing club for all genres of writing. That means we write from 2pm-6pm EST together on zoom. I’d love to have you. Landscapes is sliding scale $33-77/mo and NOTAFLOF. We have full and partial scholarships available as well. Inquire by responding to this email.

🌼 Community Quilt for Gaza : Details here

🌼 Countdown to Pride at Brilliant Books in Traverse City, MI is March 31 9pm-Midnight : food, music, friends, and more

🌼 Trans and Non Binary meet up in Honor, MI Friday May 30 7-10pm : email info@upnorthpride.com to RSVP

🌼 I am thrilled to be a mentor at this years NWMI Arts and Culture Summit May 30 and 31st - the lineup of workshops, panels, and speakers is truly amazing!

🌼 I will be spending every Tuesday morning in June on my mat with Queer Body Pilates - join us!

🌼 Tell the senate to protect trans health and tell a trans person today you love them and will protect them

CLASSIFIEDS : 

Interested in a Tarot Reading? Get a voice note reading, set up a zoom reading or hire me for your event to support you on your journey.

You don’t have to figure it all out alone. In Practice is a mentorship group where new therapists grow in confidence, clarity, and connection. 

They told me real writers write every day. Then I got sick. Now I teach memoir writing for people whose bodies don't follow rules. You belong here.

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Instagram : @codycookparrott @personalpractice
Email : info@codycookparrott.com
Website : https://www.codycookparrott.com
Writing Group : Landscapes

Want to read this month’s installment for paid subscribers : Check out A Devastated Heart, a Return to the iPhone, and a Pilates shed

P.S. I truly cannot believe how fun Quilt in a Weekend was :) Where should I go next? My desire to drive my six sewing machines to a nearby magical space is deep within me!