I did not have my shit together, though I eeked out a BA in English-Communications. I had a list of official and personal failures that really set me back. On top of it all, I wasn’t a very good poet. But there was something. My teacher recognized it. I know I loved reading and writing poems. I hung tough and Paul Genega stuck by me. I did end up getting admitted to Sarah Lawrence after making a plea to then-director Thomas Lux. It connected me to people (and ideas) that still keep me company to this day.