For humanities and communications senior Jayden Hatzke, writing has always been the intersection between mood and place. Much of his work comes from when he’s had something on his mind but no time to dissect and understand what he feels about it.
“I was in North Marina. Biking or walking to campus gave me an hour to really think about what I was doing, and think about myself. A lot of the time, that was when writing came to me,” said Hatzke.
Prior to his attendance at California State University of Monterey Bay (CSUMB), Hatzke didn’t write much.
“I didn’t really have a passion for writing until I started college. Even then, I didn’t go out of my way to write.” Hatzke now carries a small pocket journal. “Finding motivation is hard for me. So when I do have these moments of self-reflection and clarity, it’s usually by happenstance,” said Hatzke. Carrying around a pad of paper to write on allows him to write wherever the mood takes him.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, much of Hatzke’s life changed. “After COVID, I learned to love narrative in other forms, such as music.”
The culmination of this was a reading Hatzke attended, speaking on Mac Miller’s album “Circles.” The only reading Hatzke has done to date, he filled the time with a personal anecdote on how he connected with the music.
“There are some artists who really try to make you feel something, just on a deep emotional level. Listening to the album in that moment, walking outside, being one with nature, being one with myself. It was just sort of that moment, that clicking moment,” said Hatzke.
Much of what he writes is exploring how the world alters and makes him feel. Coming from a home that encouraged the ideal of success as wealth and security, Hatzke was “scared [he] wasn’t expressive enough.
“I think I really just need to hone in on what I want to do with this passion. Like, be it through poetry or nonfiction pieces, whatever it may be. But I do know that there is definitely something deeper there in that passion,” said Hatzke.
One flight of passion led to Hatzke’s poem “Rapture.” Introspective and open-ended, it captures the essence of writing that Hatzke is grappling with. Written in appreciation of the life he’s led, it invites readers to explore what rules over them.