Preface

Welcome to the second issue of Roots and Reflections, dear readers! What a year this has been. With our first issue, we finished major work right before the pandemic caused TCC to move online; this year, everything—seeking student submissions, choosing works, editing, and designing the actual magazine—has been through a digital format. It has been a challenge, to say the least, but we are so glad to finally present the end result.

After experiencing problems from COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, and the 2020 presidential election, the past school year gave our student body many issues to contemplate. As such, the forthcoming pages display a recurring theme of seeking change in a consistently changing world. When you browse the table of contents, you will see nonfiction that reveals real-life stories of young adults who persevered in many difficult situations, including the loss of family and friends. These writers’ tenacity balances well with other pieces, which speak to the ongoing desire to achieve despite incredible adversity in the real world. This same theme can be seen in the artwork displayed in this issue, as many photographs display a hard look at the reality of what 2020 was like for so many; still other images simply reminded us of how much we longed to be out of our homes again! The digital images and paintings demonstrate the incredible talent shown by our students, and we are grateful to see our students contribute these works to our magazine.

On that note, we would like to congratulate the contributors for last year’s issue one more time, as the Spring 2020 issue received a first-place award from the National Council of Teachers of English. This award is a demonstration of the hard work and tenacity put forth by TCC students, and we are so proud of each and every one of you who took the time to write, create, or design pieces for our inaugural issue. These past two years have gone above and beyond what we could have predicted, and we can’t wait to see what’s next for this magazine.

Lastly, if you are a student and you’re interested in submitting to this magazine, please feel free to contact either of us. This magazine welcomes all forms of creativity--writing, art, editing, and design--and we know there’s a place for you.

Professor Janae Corrado and Dr. Jerrica Jordan Faculty co-advisers