April 2014
Welcome to our e-newsletter
Minds in Motion  

 

The bluebonnets are out in full force, and this month at Free Minds, we celebrated the fruits of our labor with a Spring Reading at Malvern Books. Hear one workshop writer's perspective on germinating creative work. Plus, a student-made video offers a new look at the classroom.   

  Free Minds Writers Join Forces for   

Spring Reading
 

      

"Born in Pearl City, Hawaii on October 31, 1980." This is how Tiffany Bond, a 2014 Free Minds student, kicked off the evening on Saturday, April 12, reading from her autobiographical poem, "Thriving Survivor."  

 

The reading brought participants of our recent writing workshop together with students from the two-semester class to share their original works of poetry and prose. The pieces they shared represent weeks of immersion in the writing process, studying key elements of craft like imagery, dialogue, and revision.

 

We gathered at Malvern Books, an independent bookstore that aims to provide a space where readers and emerging writers can come together. For Free Minds writers, this venue offered the chance to see themselves among the other artists whose books line Malvern's shelves.  

 

The works read Saturday evening revealed personal histories, transporting listeners through the childhood wonders of catching crayfish in a worn-out tire or pocketing treasures thrown from a Mardi Gras parade float. Some delved into more difficult themes--overcoming a dysfunctional relationship or longing for a lost parent, while others expanded from a single compelling scene--the serenity of a barbecue smolder first thing in the morning.

 

Reading one's own work in front of a crowd can be nerve-wracking, but affirming as well. Pamela Filip put this way: "Standing up and reading in front of an audience was liberating!...I experienced a sense of acceptance, a down home feeling of oneness."

 

You can hear from another workshop writer, Ryan Gonzales, in the Final Word below. 

You're Invited!

Free Minds Class of 2014
Graduation Ceremony
Tuesday, May 20
7:00 pm


Harry Ransom Center
The University of Texas at Austin

New Video Features Class Community
 
Did you catch our most recent video? We asked current student and filmmaker Estephania LeBaron to put together a short film for Amplify Austin which would highlight voices from the class and the sense of community that we create together. The result filled us with pride; check it out below! 

Free Minds Builds a Community of Learners  
Is Free Minds the Next Step for You?

Applications are now available for the Free Minds Class of 2015!
Click here to learn more.
Issue 48
In This Issue
Writers Join Forces for Spring Reading
You're Invited to Graduation
New Video Features Class Community
Applications Available for Class of 2015
The Final Word


Special Thanks

 

In March, we worked closely with our amazing community outreach team on Amplify Austin; we are proud to report that with matching funds from the St. David's Foundation, the grand total raised came to $73,500. We owe this success to mountains of support from many more people than we can name individually. Huge gratitude to: 

 

69 team leaders who recruited friends and family to give

 

640 donors who gave 

 

Alori Properties for a $5,000 challenge grant 

 

Free Minds Class of 2014 

 

St. David's Foundation for generous matching funds amounting to $24,500 

 

 

 

If you are interested in volunteering with or supporting Free Minds, you can find more information on our website.  

 



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 Minds in Motion

Archive

  

March 2014

Students dive into the world of field research and members of our community offer favorite reasons to Amplify Free Minds!

We've got our sights set on college, as alums make strides in education post-Free Minds. 
 

 

Looking for earlier newsletters?

Visit our complete 

online archive.

FinalWord

The Final Word 

Ryan Gonzales: "Fear Can be the Seed of a Dream" 

 

"A head full of fears has no space for dreams." This quote recently made its way onto my newsfeed, and it moved me. I immediately related to it, and its accompanying picture evoked a deep understanding of the little gem of "wisdom" that sat so assertively on my phone's screen. But a day later, I realized that this quote lacked the basic understanding of the human experience: we are fearful beings. Fear, anxiety, and a multitude of other emotions and circumstances had paved the road to my premature departure from college. I was defeated.

 

Three years passed, with fear and anxiety still perched upon my shoulders, and then Free Minds found its way into my life. A dear friend of mine told me about a writing workshop that Free Minds was hosting from February to April. I hesitated to join at first for fear that my passionate writing aspirations were not up to par with the skills of the other members or the expectations of the workshop itself. Despite memories of my failed educational career rushing over me, I decided to give it a chance. What unfolded in front of me during my eight weeks with Free Minds planted the seeds for my future. During the workshop, we had a warm-up exercise with the prompt: "Everything changed when..." After I read what I had written, another workshop member provided glossy-eyed words of commendation to me. This moment stirred the depths of my stomach. It was powerful to see someone so moved by what I had written, especially someone whose writings had never failed to move me as well. She understood my message and helped reawaken the fire I once knew to burn inside of me. I'm forever in debt to her. 

 

What I have taken away from Free Minds is that we cannot simply cast out our fears in order to "make room for dreams." Fear, or anxiety, or worry can be the seed of a dream. That was evident in everyone I laid eyes on in that room where we gathered every Tuesday evening. We can draw inspiration and meaning from the sobering crash of real life, and that's what I'll continue to do as I pursue my writing career and try to get my final workshop piece published. 

 

P.S. To everyone I sat at that table with: each and every one of you is a beautiful human being with amazing potential and abilities. I wish you all luck. 




A program of Foundation Communities, in partnership with The University of Texas at Austin and Austin Community College, Free Minds offers a two-semester college course in the humanities for Central Texas adults who want to fulfill their intellectual potential and begin a new chapter in their lives.

Free Minds Project
Foundation Communities
3036 South 1st Street
Austin TX, 78704

Project Director: Viv� Griffith

Program Coordinator: Amelia Pace-Borah

 

Ph: 512-610-7961   F: 512-447-0288

 

www.FreeMindsAustin.org