LEARNING TO FLY WITH MEG HINDMAN
Meg Hindman’s signature yellow high-top Converse sneakers are the first thing I notice as she joins me on my blanket in the Alumni Gardens. It’s a warm spring morning, and we are more than happy to be sitting in the sunshine. Meg is a senior; in May, she will have completed her education in three years. She’s a Creative Writing major with a Human Development and Family Studies minor, and she is part of the Honors Program.
Meg has been writing since before kindergarten, when recalls memorizing stories and recounting them to her mother and grandmother. One of them would ask for a story, and she would begin something long. Meg says, “I would rattle on and they would talk over me; they knew it would keep me entertained.” Meg began writing plays; she and her two younger sisters would act them out. “It’s a core writer experience,” Meg says with a laugh, picking grass off the blanket we’re sitting on. She and her sisters would play imagination games, and Meg wrote everything down to keep their plots straight. She credits this experience as what got her into writing.
Growing up, one of Meg’s biggest inspirations for writing came from the story of Peter Pan, especially after watching the 2003 live-action film. “I had always loved the concept of flying.” As a child, she despised Wendy Darling with a passion; Meg created a story where Wendy was the wrong girl for Peter Pan. She wrote a play for her and her sisters to put on, which evolved into a game and then into a novel. Impressively, Meg wrote a six-book series, each focusing on a different aspect of life in Neverland and drawing inspiration from the original tale. She makes sure to clarify, “I’m a lot more sympathetic to Wendy now.”
After these novels, Meg took a break from writing and turned her attention to reading. She devoured young adult fiction, learning what she did and did not like in different writing styles. “That was the fun part for me,” Meg comments. “YA is very easy to read.”
Now, as a college student, Meg reflects, “I write way more nonfiction than I thought I would.” She notes that the college phase of life is so full of intense growth that she’s turned to nonfiction to process her emotions. Both of her pieces in the 99th edition of Ivy Leaves are nonfiction: “Summer Showers” and “Fly Away.” Each of these is inspired by her family. In fact, even Meg’s fiction pieces are inspired by the games she used to play with her sisters and older brother. When trying to decide if she wants to work on a nonfiction or fiction piece, Meg asks herself, “Do I want to focus on being human or focus on being something more?”
I asked Meg what she likes to do in her free time, to which she responded that she rarely has any. As a barista, Senior Resident Advisor, and a student employee for the Admissions Department, Meg is constantly on the go. However, when she does have time, she enjoys activities such as paddleboarding, reading, going to concerts, sewing, and more. After graduation, Meg wants to continue writing. She is in the process of applying for teaching jobs, but eventually, her goal is to own an event space. Her bookstore/venue will be a place for her community to gather for events, food, and more. Meg declares it will be “sick as frick” when this dream finally comes true.
Meg’s main piece of advice for other writers is to “stretch yourself.” She suggests taking classes in things other than writing to learn as much as possible. She says, “Write things you’re uncomfortable with. They will better inform your writing and inspire you in ways you didn’t expect.” After an hour-long conversation about the breadth of Meg’s creative endeavors, I asked her, “What can’t you do?” Meg’s reply: “Fly.”