Letter from the Editors

Dear Reader,

Connections began this year by welcoming back dedicated members of our team, and by welcoming in new members equally dedicated to our mission. This year, we had a defined process for how to create our magazine and our new mission was to expand our presence and create opportunities throughout the semester for students to get involved. We also wanted to choose a theme that spoke to us in ways that differed from previous years. While our previous two editions focused on the sentimental value of our homes and past, this year we wanted to focus on the beauty of transformation in the present, and thus: Rebirth.

Connections has expanded in great ways. We hosted our first workshop event with BAASA in the Spring semester! We modeled it after a tea party with snacks and prompts to spark inspiration amongst those who attended. It was also a chance for Connections General Board members to meet and talk with BAASA members. We also kept busy planning social media collaborations in order to grow our social media presence. We collaborated with local food businesses to offer free food giveaways. The Connections Team also wanted to emulate BAASA in supporting an Asian focused charity during our launch party. This year we are raising money for MAP for Health, a charity that focuses on supporting the health and wellness of LGBTQ+ AAPI youth around Boston. We hope this will be the first year of many that we can support the community with our launch party.

This year is also bittersweet as we say goodbye to our three senior members: Amanda, Hannah and Claire, who have been with us since the start of our journey. We want to thank them for their dedication and the hours of work and love that they have put into this magazine over the past three years, and for trusting the rest of the team to carry on.

We thank you for picking up this edition of Connections, and we hope that you are able to find the same beauty in change and rebirth as we do.

With Much Love, Allie and Amanda

A Special Note From Amanda:

My 3rd and final year of Connections has felt like the breath you take after a leap of faith; it is wonder at what has been created, disbelief at the fact that it is already over, and excitement for the future.

A Special Note From Claire:

Since its inception, Connections has been filled with extraordinarily talented, passionate and kind people, all of whom have poured a great deal of love and care into producing inspiring work. For the past three years, I have been incredibly proud and fortunate to call myself a member of the Connections Team. It is a true gift to be a part of an Asian-American literary magazine, but an even truer one to be a member of a community so deeply invested in sharing our most precious, most vulnerable, and most beautiful stories.