The week after classes finished in the spring, I had the opportunity to participate in the Obermann Center’s End-of-Year Writing Retreat. The retreat offered faculty, staff, and students dedicated time to work on writing projects, which I hoped to spend editing my novel, a climate dystopia that centers on youth empowerment and the feeling of hopelessness that many of us experience as the climate changes despite our many efforts. Upon receiving an email of acceptance to the retreat, I was in class and could barely keep from grinning. However, underneath all that excitement, I felt a flicker of impostor syndrome. I didn’t know anyone in the retreat, and to make it more daunting, I was the only undergraduate student. So, even as I texted my friends and parents, overjoyed that I had been accepted, I was worried that I would be completely out of place.
The retreat took place at the beautiful North Ridge Pavilion in Coralville. I spent many writing breaks throughout the week gazing over the pond and strolling the park grounds, wondering how close I could get to the baby geese without their parents attacking me. It was a wonderful place to write and connect to nature.
The other participants—all of them faculty, staff, and graduate students—were incredibly kind, encouraging me when I made progress in my novel and conversing about the nuances of the Spanish language as I prepared for my semester abroad. Lunches were spent on blankets by the water, laughing and debating which book from a random online generator was superior. My tablemates patiently helped me concoct a not-so-bitter coffee in my attempts to seem more mature, only for me to wince and splutter. I drank tea after that.
As the retreat continued, I was most proud of the work I accomplished on my novel. Throughout the week, I edited chapter after chapter, my writing area covered in notes and papers.
Chapters that had seemed too daunting or complicated during the school year started to make sense, and soon, I was making more progress in a day than I had in the past month.
My novel had been four years in the making, and this retreat gave me the space and encouragement needed to nearly finish editing.
I am so incredibly grateful to the Obermann Center for hosting this program. As a recent transfer student to the University of Iowa, I often felt out of place as I struggled to find my people on a campus much larger than my previous college. In school, I think we tend to gravitate to people our age because it seems like we’re going through similar challenges. However, this retreat truly showed me that friends can be of any age, from the kind professor who gave me rides to the retreat, to the man who sat next to me and went out of his way to make sure I understood some tricky Spanish language topics. While I made incredible progress in my novel, I also found many amazing people who I felt wanted nothing but the best for me. I hope that everyone who participates in this program finds writing motivation, new perceptions, and feels as welcome as I did.
Francesca Hendricks is a University of Iowa senior majoring in creative writing with a minor in Spanish. A member of the honors program and recipient of the Naomi Gunderson Scholarship for Foreign Language Study Abroad, she will study in Spain during the Fall 2025 semester through the CIEE Seville Liberal Arts program.