From: The Bottom Of Our Hearts

Things People Tell You That You Quickly Forget And Sometimes It Leads To Drinking:
             1. He wasn’t a good boyfriend.
             2. You should add roadside assistance to your car insurance policy.
             3. Editing a literary journal is hard.

It is nearly October. The ground outside is saturated with rain. My air conditioner sits dumbly. We huddle in a corner, cold, unfeeling, days since our last takeout delivery.

Alright, so I’ve always been a little dramatic. Let’s just say this year has taught me a lot. The urgency of youth, the physics of longing, the importance of friends, and the futility of words. The weight of this moment, the fact that we can’t ever go back, how it feels to be spiraling forward hazardously. What it means to be hopeful.

I’m trying not to be vague. We’re still Millennials. We gather at the bar and scroll through our news feeds while grumbling about social injustice. We triple-share selfies, #brandrelevance. We need sleep. We are very tired of Billy Collins.

Through all of it, I’m grateful to still be standing among friends. We have some wonderful people here for you to meet. We hope you want to hold them. Our hands are open for your words. We hope you send them soon. We’ll be in the corner. Don’t worry, we’re listening — illuminated by the backlight of our phone screens.

Sent from my iPhone
Dakota Garilli, Nonfiction Editor and Digital Presence

I dunno why you’ve gotta come for Billy Collins but whatever.

xoxo
Kinsley Stocum, Poetry Editor