Editor’s Note

I have always loved storytelling. When I was younger, my way of telling stories was with my stuffed animals. Every day, my sibling and I spent hours constructing elaborate stories that took place in The Buddy Kingdom, telling oral stories and acting them out with characters such as Bob the monkey, Becky the camel, Chen-Chen the cat, Tasha the skunk, and partners in crime Shepherd and Valentine the puppies.

As I got older, I began to write these stories down, filling notebook after notebook with short stories, working my way up to a completed draft of my first novel. As I was homeschooled up to college, I am thankful for my mother nurturing this passion and supplying me with extra lessons on vocabulary and grammar to help me grow as an author.

When it came time for me to start college, I was extremely conscious about getting a job that was “financially reliable,” and I feared that a fiction novel writer was not that. I allowed my passion to go dormant while I sought out a career that could support me and my family. In a way, I felt like I had traded my writing notebooks for textbooks.

My passion for writing was reignited after taking two specific classes at PVCC. I knew I would adore Creative Writing, but I was not as keen about Intro to Journalism. I went into that first class expecting the worst and came out with an unlikely solution to my career dilemma. Suddenly, I knew what I wanted to be: an editor for a newspaper. 

Not only have I found a new love for editing, I have also been reunited with my love for writing, and I have several full-length novels under my belt now. I also met my two closest friends in that class, and I have learned far more than I ever could have expected to. I encourage anyone who has an interest in literature, or just wants to earn a transfer elective, to consider taking a semester or two of journalism. It changed my life, and I am proud to be a part of The Forum.