哔咔漫画 (USF) student Sophia Montejo is many things: a member
of the Judy Genshaft Honors College, a Studio Ghibli fan, and now, a published author
as her short story 鈥淣otions鈥� was recently published in the .
The story was her final project for the Honors course 鈥淲riting Resistance,鈥� taught
by Honors affiliate faculty member Dennis Mont鈥橰os, which Montejo was enrolled in
during spring of 2023.
Montejo is a third-year Honors student dual majoring in psychology and English with
a concentration in creative writing. As an aspiring psychology professor, she hopes
to continue to apply her propensity for creativity and love of writing to a future
in research and education.
Growing up, Montejo frequently created her own stories and dreamed of becoming a writer.
However, after some time away from actively engaging in creative storytelling, she
was uncertain of her own ability to dive back into the process of writing fiction.
鈥淚 spent the first year of college very out of touch with my creative side. I was
like, I'm not sure if I can do that anymore,鈥� said Montejo.
Despite her apprehension, Professor Mont鈥橰os鈥� course aided her in finding her creative
drive by helping her overcome the need for perfectionism in her work.
鈥淚 loved the discussions. He really emphasized this idea of writing like a mad man
and getting all of your thoughts and feelings onto the page,鈥� said Montejo. 鈥淚t really
helped because perfectionism really holds you back in that regard.鈥�
MODERN LOVE STORIES
Montejo鈥檚 short story follows the emotional journey of a married couple and the progression
of their relationship over time. Throughout the story, readers are able to follow
the experience of the couple鈥檚 love from their meeting to their eventual separation.
Despite her own love of a happy ending, Montejo developed a more complex narrative
arc to reflect the challenges she observed in her own relationships. During the transitional
phase of her life, moving from Ohio to Florida to attend USF, Montejo noticed she
was spending time with new people, each with varying life experiences that they had
not yet shared with each other.
鈥淲e were figuring ourselves out,鈥� observed Montejo. 鈥淚 think to grow and change and
yet to have other people as constants in your life is a beautiful thing, no matter
how long it lasts or how well or poorly it ends.鈥�
Montejo hopes that from her story readers glean that despite how any relationship
ends, one can still appreciate and cherish the love that was sprinkled throughout.
鈥淚t's not all black and white. That's not what life is like,鈥� said Montejo. 鈥淣ot everything's
all good or all bad. You can still see what good things come of even a bad ending.鈥�
SOPHIA鈥橲 TIPS FOR CREATIVITY
- Find artists who inspire you:
Sophia recommends not only looking to the medium(s) that you operate in but exploring all modes of creative work such as music, film, visual art, performance art, and more. Find what inspires you about another artists work and channel that into creating your own pieces. - Look for ways to pursue all of your interests:
USF has endless opportunities for clubs, extracurriculars, jobs, and research. Take the time now to pursue any and all of your interests while the resources and organizations are at your fingertips! - Allow creativity to flow into all areas of your life:
Art can exist anywhere and creativity can be a skill you use not only in artistic but also academic pursuits. 鈥淏eing able to tap into the creative side of you helps a lot with coming up with research questions, coming up with new ideas, being able to read over something and take something new from that,鈥� said Sophia of the overlap between psychology research and creativity.
鈥淩each out for opportunities to continue cultivating those interests because I think that's a really important part of being in college.鈥� 鈥� Honors student Sophia Montejo
PUBLISHING HER PIECE
When it came time for Montejo to submit the final draft of 鈥淣otions鈥� to Professor
Mont鈥橰os she was not expecting anything other than her final grade for the course.
However, after reading the story Mont鈥橰os reached out to Sophia with the idea of pursuing
publication for her story in a literary magazine.
Sophia agreed, excited to share a story with a wider public, and the two began editing
the story back and forth until they reached a final product that they then submitted
to magazines for publication.
For Montejo, this was the easiest part of her creative journey.
鈥淏ecause the process was so well-guided... there was a lot less anxiety around whether
or not it would get accepted,鈥� said Montejo of waiting to hear back on the status
of her submission.
Next, Montejo plans to focus on her psychology studies while continuing to explore
her creative side in her English classes.
鈥淭his class very much sparked my love of writing and made me realize it was something
I could continue with. It made me realize it was something I never wanted to fall
out of in the first place.鈥�
You can or listen to Sophia and other students on the Honor Roll Podcast.