Walls fights to follow dreams despite scholastic restraints
By THE CLASS
Sarah Walls, 21, grew up in Cleveland, Georgia. Sarah said what’s special about the northeastern town of Cleveland is that it is an oasis of rural escape from the hectic pace of Atlanta and Athens. As a rural-minded person (she definitely does not call herself a city dweller), she loves it.
Sarah was initially torn between attending UGA, the College of Charleston, and the University of Miami. After deciding Miami was too expensive, Sarah toured Charleston. She was blown away by the school’s beautiful setting and Spanish moss, but felt a distinct lack of connection to the University. Sarah felt like she instantly belonged at UGA on her final college tour.
Sarah Walls sees herself writing on a beach in five years. She wants to be writing fictional works, though she’s currently a journalism major.
“It’s kind of too late now,” Walls said, explaining why she didn’t switch her field of study at this time. However, she said she might see how the traveling aspect of journalism can influence how she develops her characters. If she did end up pursuing journalism, Wall said that it would be for the travel aspect.
Sarah started UGA with hopes of becoming a marine biologist. “I really like travelling. I really like writing. I really like the ocean,” Walls says. But her career goals quickly changed away from a scientific profession. She is currently trying to find a career to combine her three main interests. She thinks that travel writing might be a fun way to do so, but worries about the limited opportunities in the field. She has considered taking a year off after school to pursue her writing and explore perhaps becoming an author.
After leaving UGA in May 2017, Sarah will miss the ease of living and socializing with friends that college life brings.
J.K. Rowling is Sarah’s favorite author. She wants to be a writer and feels that Rowling has always been an incredible role model. Sarah thinks it’s amazing to see what Rowling has done with Harry Potter and how she has managed to make it a staple for so many people around the world to bond over.
Sarah’s favorite book is The Dive by Pipin Ferreras. This work is a true story about love, death, heartbreak, determination, and the incredibly dangerous, adrenaline-fueled sport of free-diving. Sarah enjoyed it because she is an avid scuba-diver and finds her true passion in the ocean, and the book was able to describe the ocean in a way she could relate to. She was intrigued by the adventure and danger, and, while she never wants to get into free-diving herself, would love to read more stories about ocean and diving endeavors.
Sarah’s favorite and best written work is a piece that she wrote for a creative writing course about scuba diving. She loved writing it because she was able to mix her two biggest passions, writing and scuba diving, to create something for others to enjoy.
The most meaningful advice Sarah has gotten is “keep trying no matter how many times you fail.” To be an author is Sarah’s career goal. Whenever she feels self-doubt or her work is criticized by someone, this phrase encouraged her a lot. She used J.K Rolling’s experiences as an example. Even J.K Rolling was rejected by twelve publishers, she kept trying and achieved success eventually. Sarah got this advice from her boyfriend who graduated two years ago and started his own business.
Sarah prefers to use a recorder while interviewing. She finds that both she and her subject are often slightly nervous at the start of an interview, and using a recorder allows for a more natural conversation, which puts both parties more at ease.
The worst class Sarah has ever taken was a Geology course taught by Professor Protino-Douce. She claims the professor was aptly named as he was very strict about cellphone usage in the classroom and made the course as awful as possible for the students.