Illustration by Catherine Cao.

Laura Meyer (MFA 2021, Writing), a.k.a. Cygne, aspired to be the first female member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. A self-styled songwriter and performer, she toured the U.S. and Europe for years, running down a dream she’d first sighted in adolescence. Then, the night of a 2017 show in Switzerland, Laura felt the dream dry up — coincidentally (or not), Tom Petty passed away the following day. Ever since, Laura has been reimagining a life off the road, focused more on the “making,” and less on the “it.”