Thishasbeensuchan incredibleexperience…

I don’t even know where to begin, so I feel like I should just start at the beginning. I fell in love with fashion, art, and all things creative as a photographer. Photography was, and will always be my first passion, and my sister was, and will always be my first muse. My need for creative expression took the form of putting together little photoshoots with my sister around the house and by a little river by our house. My love for photography and art only grew throughout high school as I took on the role of editor of my school’s yearbook, and by the time I arrived at college, I was ready to find my next creative outlet.

My journey with Strike Boston began the spring semester of my freshman year. Strike had just been established in Boston, so I got to be a part of the very first issue and watch it expand and flourish over the following year. It has been such an incredible opportunity to watch the magazine grow over the past year and a half. I have loved every single one of my roles at Strike, from the multimedia manager to the productions manager and now the Editor in Chief.

My first task as Editor in Chief was deciding on a theme for the issue, and I landed on a theme that was personal to me and to many of my friends and loved ones. Growing up as a teen girl in this screen-filled world, my relationship with my body, and my friend's relationships with their bodies, played a constant frustrating, beautiful, painful, and powerful role in our lives. And so, being given the opportunity to express this phenomenon in photoshoots, articles, and ultimately an entire magazine was a chance I could not pass up on. This issue was incredibly satisfying to work on and will always be special in my heart.

While preparing over winter break for my role as Editor in Chief, I was filled with ideas and beyond excited about turning all my creative visions and dreams into reality. I was over the moon as running a fashion magazine was quite literally a dream come true for me. Entering the role, I was most excited to have the ability to execute all my artistic visions. However, after completing my first issue as the Editor in Chief and reflecting on everything I have learned, my perspective has changed slightly. While creating and expressing myself artistically over the past semester has been a blast, the most satisfying part of my role was watching all my talented staff execute their own creative visions. The ability to become a force to help others transform their artistic fantasies into reality was arguably the most fulfilling aspect of the role for me.

That being said, I would like to thank all my fabulous, talented, incredible staff. I am so beyond lucky to have all of you guys on my team this semester. I can’t express enough how fortunate I was to not only work with all of you but to also watch all of you execute your creative expressions. It’s been a blast and I can’t wait to see what you all create in the future! Xoxo.