2 minute read
Letter from the Editor
Next Article
Dear Reader,
First of all, can I just say how gorgeous you are? Wow. The dazzling twinkle in your eyes, the adorable upturn of your smile...Zoom doesn’t do you justice. And how lucky are we to be in your hands right now? Honestly, I’m flattered. But don’t worry, babes, I promise this issue will deliver.
Casual flirtation aside (follow us on IG, maybe?), it’s no secret that the world and we little creatures who happen to live here have faced a lot of ugliness since our last in-person issue was released in February 2020. I find, which I’m sure you can understand, that it’s really hard to reflect on everything we as a society have lived through in the past two years when we have no way of knowing how much longer we have left of going through it. And I’m not just talking about the pandemic, either. Spending less time out and about has allowed people to bring grave injustices to light, all of which our society needs to answer for, or even just acknowledge.
Through all that, what never fails to inspire me is the sheer resilience of the human spirit. Instead of allowing ourselves to break, we rise. Even on our campus, we see the hope and determination of the marginalized to push back against hideous wrongs and make a better community. What could be more powerful than the survivors of Dr. Anderson and their supporters braving late-fall Michigan weather to demand change from one of the state’s largest institutions?
The fact that people continuously fight for beauty, for peace, for justice even when it seems hopeless is what gives me strength to endure ugliness. Here within these pages (real, printed pages!!!) are stories of discovering and coming to terms with the beauty in ourselves and the world around us. Sometimes it’s not obvious. Sometimes, we have to work to create it. And sometimes, we have to change our thinking to see what was always there.
To close, I want to thank you, Reader, you beautiful thing! It’s been rough these last few semesters, and we’ve missed you. Thanks to your support, your willingness to take a chance on a magazine with a mildly inappropriate name and sensual imagery on the cover, and then to keep coming back for more, our efforts to publish top-notch art and writing have been well worth it. So cheers to you, Reader! May you find beauty waiting for you around every corner, as I know you’ll find beauty waiting within these pages.
Much love,
Cielle Waters-Umfleet Editor-in-Chief
