Jesselynn Sutanto
Student spotlight details
Jesselynn felt lost and aimless before enrolling on the MSt in Creative Writing. She is now continuing to write and publish books but is also 'dabbling' with screenwriting.
‘Before enrolling on the MSt in Creative Writing, I had just graduated from my undergraduate program and I was lost and aimless. I felt that I was mediocre at everything and the one thing I was maybe not too terrible at was writing. So, I decided to look into creative writing programs and was fortunate enough to be accepted to the prestigious master's programme at Oxford. I was very sure that the acceptance had been some administrative error and they felt too awkward to rescind their offer, so I was like, "Well, better accept their offer before they change their minds!"
‘Something which I found very intimidating was how talented my course mates were. They were all brilliant writers who wrote very complex, very richly layered manuscripts, and we'd have critique sessions where we were supposed to critique one another's work. I remember reading their writing and thinking: Oh my god, this is so beyond me, how am I supposed to find something to critique? I felt very much like I was a fraud, flailing in a sea of real writers. My classmates were so kind and gracious and humble, but the imposter syndrome really hit hard.
‘Although my classmates were unreasonably gifted, they were also, as I mentioned, very kind and welcoming. I loved every moment of interaction with them. They were some of the most interesting people I've ever met, and there's nothing quite like that magical feeling that comes with being at a place like Oxford while surrounded by other students. I was in what is arguably the best university in the world, soaking in its incredible history, and I was doing it with a group of people who were as enchanted as I was. I wish I could go back to those days and bottle up that fizzy feeling of endless possibilities.
‘In future, I plan to continue writing and publishing books for as long as they'd let me! I'm also dabbling with screenwriting as I hear that's what all the cool kids are doing now.
‘To someone who is considering undertaking a course, I suggest you try to slow down and take the time to absorb every moment of it. It can be intimidating but just go with the flow and trust that you deserve a spot there, no matter what that awful little voice inside your head tells you. Explore the city whenever you can. Find all the hidden nooks and crannies, there are so many of them. Make up the most ridiculous stories about each hidden corner and tell them to your relatives when they visit and see what you can get away with. (I convinced my parents that the mound in New College is a "troll mound" and that they used to sacrifice the lowest performing students there to appease trolls. Sorry, New College!) Ask all the questions. Drink in as much knowledge as you can. You're going to have the best time any student has ever had.’
