The End of a Tale, and The Beginning of an Adventure By Sydney Scott
I
’ve never known what I wanted to do with my life. Especially when it comes to my career.
Whenever anyone asks me what I wanted to be when I was younger, I answer Hannah Montana. Obviously, I can’t do that. I just never knew and that show was my favorite. When it was time to apply to college, applying to specific majors was a struggle. So, I just randomly chose business or computer science depending on the college. They would make me the most money. That’s how I ended up at Chapman freshman year as a comp-sci major. It was fine. I didn’t hate it (except one class). Then I took Intro to Journalism. That was fun. So I decided that I should have fun and changed majors freshman year. When I told my parents, they weren’t surprised. I was like how? I sure was… When they pointed out how much literature has been in my life, it was pretty obvious.
In 2022, I read 207 books. In 2021, 193. This year… 198 and counting That’s just what my Kindle counted. It doesn’t include any physical books. I’ve been told that’s a lot, but to me, that’s just normal. English class was always easy for me too. It’s pretty obvious I was meant to be a writer. I guess I just wasn’t aware enough to figure it out. It’s just how my life goes. But, when I knew that writing was meant for me, I hit the ground running. I put all my effort into learning different writing forms, especially journalism.
That’s how I ended up writing for this magazine and eventually running it. When I first took this class, I was good, but nowhere near as experienced as I am today. And while I didn’t get chosen as an editor immediately, I just kept taking the class and working my way up until I was. I’ve been a part of this magazine for five semesters now. Twice as a writer, once as a designer, and twice as an editor and I couldn’t have had a better time.
The path here was amazing. I’m so glad to have been a part of it and so grateful for my teacher and mentor Jerry Hicks. Without him and without this magazine, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Almost a college graduate, with enough experience under my belt to be prepared for my next adventure. I don’t know yet where it will take me, but now I know it doesn’t matter if I know what I want to do with my future. If I’m meant for more, it will find me.
A collage of some fun costumes in this year’s Halloween class. From left, Gil Bothwell, Brian Guevara, Professor Jerry Hicks with Marjorie Stemmler, Lisa Wong, and Sydney Scott.
A Tattoo Worth a Thousand Words By Marjorie Stemmler Every birthday growing up I could always expect one thing: a card from my grandparents. It always came in beautiful cursive writing “Maggie”, written by my grandma, Gambi, and would usually be a card that had something to do with an interest of mine. My favorite game when opening the card would be pretending I didn’t expect a crisp $20 bill in there. In the card, my grandpa, Pop-Pop, would always write the same thing: “I (Heart shape) U”, and the “U” would contain a smiley face in it. Because I was young I didn’t take note of what was written on my cards. Until I did. Last November my grandpa passed away. My birthday falls in December. I was already heartbroken hearing the news, but getting the birthday card that year set it into motion. “I love you, Gambi.”
No Pop-pop. No “I heart U”. It was true. He was gone. At least I got a birthday card though, until that went away, too. Gambi passed away in February of this year. This birthday I won’t be getting a card. I’m turning 22 without my grandparents beside me. But, at least I could say I’m one of the lucky people who knew them. My grandparents, Gambi and Pop-pop, real names Sue and Bob, were great people to everyone they met, but I’m gonna talk about what they meant to me. I cannot thank God enough for letting me spend 21 years with these amazing people. My favorite memories are the ones I have when I was a kid. Growing up in NorCal my family took the seven hour drive to go visit my grandparents. Beaming with excitement I’d run to he door, ring on the doorbell, and
creepily peek through the window waiting jobs, love life, they probably knew our sleep schedule. for Gambi to stroll to the door. Once I’m in, the hugs start. Big, warm hugs. How I They supported me through all my enmiss those hugs. deavors. When I started archery and had a grandiose plan for my athletic future, they On my fourth birthday I spent it with Gambi. It was a princess party, where she both wanted to hear all about it. Gambi told me she’ll stay alive just to watch me got an extravagant princess cake. in the Olympics. I know she’ll be watching. Gambi was a great gift giver, she always knew exactly what I liked and wanted, because she was always there to listen. Both Earlier this year, I decided to get a tattoo. I’m not a tattoo person, but I thought I’d her and Pop-pop would sit with me for make an exception. hours just talking about anything. They were there for everything: dance competitions, piano recitals, lacrosse games. They always knew what was going on in my life. I couldn’t hide anything from them, they knew my problems before I even knew about them.
It’s very small, no longer than 2 inches, and took maybe five minutes for my tattoo artist to do. He probably thought it was a waste of his time. But it meant so much to me.
Even with five kids and ten grandchildren, I get to carry the memory of two wonderful people with me. they knew all of our birthdays, hobbies,
I’m Not Afraid of Flying By Nicole Kavros When I was younger, I was terrified of airplanes. It didn’t matter if I had a flight coming up or not. I was deathly afraid of flying. I remember staying up at night convincing myself that I was going to die in a plane crash. Katy Perry’s “Roar” music video came out ten years ago. I remember it well because I was nine then, the phobia of flying in full swing. Katy scared the living hell out of me. In the video, her plane crashes and she’s left the sole survivor. As far as I knew, the same thing was going to happen to me. I was irrational. I was naive. And I was scared of absolutely everything. There were points where I was too scared to enter a different room of the house alone. I slept with all the lights on. It’s embarrassing and silly, but it’s the truth. I had to deal with it. I cried to my mom, I went to therapy; my therapist even had me keep a fear journal. Then came the first time I visited my family in Greece, which had me facing my fears by confronting them head-on: with a 16-hour flight. The entire time I was gripping the sides of my seat, bracing myself for impact. But then, we landed safely. I had the best month of my life. Slowly, I learned to manage my fears. I started going on flights. I slept in the dark. I could listen to “Roar” in peace. Lions, tigers, and bears, so what? Once I started to free myself of those chains that held me back, I felt unstoppable. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t that paranoid little girl.
I was fearless. It clicked. If I wanted to go far in life, if I wanted to truly live, I needed to let go. News flash: letting go is hard. I’m still working on it. My fears look a little different now. A little more real. I’m scared of losing the people I love. Of not being good enough. I’m scared of something horrible happening and uprooting life as I know it. I call that feeling anxiety. It sucks, but I’ve learned to live with it. I’ve stopped turning on the lights when I’m in the dark. Instead, I feel my way through it. Every day I’m facing my fears. I’m pushing myself through the stress they bring me. I’m letting myself live and be free. I’ve never felt better. My battle with anxiety has gotten a lot easier. I can do anything. And I’m definitely not afraid of flying.
Kavros in Greece last summer.
Columns Fall 2023