Letter from the Editor

The only constant in life is change, transformation, and metamorphosis. This past year showed us how quick everything we’ve known can be swept right from under us and leave us in a space of uncertainty. I know that I, as well as many of yall, know this feeling personally. 2020 was an extremely rough year for the collective. From being in lockdown for months, an extremely high death toll, the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others by Killer Cops, political chaos, proud boys…AND I swear they put some nyquil into Daylight Savings this year. It’s been a lot. But, we’re here reveling in our metamorphosis.

Transformation has always been something so beautiful to me, but while beautiful at the same time it was usually followed by an unsettled feeling. During all the self reflection time I’ve had during quarantine I realized that unsettled feeling stems from not fully living in the present and carrying anxiety from the past. Allowing myself to live in the present and detach myself from what I think “should” be the outcome gives a whole new freeing aspect to transformation. We chose Metamorphosis as the theme for this issue because it effortlessly describes how both the good and the bad lead us to where we are today. We’re here for the human experience and we’re riding the wave. As I sit here on my laptop, a senior in college (crazy), writing my Editor’s Note for the publication I joined when I was only a sophomore, listening to Good Days by Sza on repeat (she put her foot in this), I just feel an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. I’m thankful for every moment that led me to this point, the bad that pointed me to the good, and for the attachments that had to be let go in order for me to be my best self. I’m thankful that the previous EIC’s have trusted Dassy and I to continue the legacy of Renegade on this campus. I am proud to have a team that was able to create during such a chaotic time and complete the vision while in a panoramic because we know that was not easy! (the impromptu shoots in my living room were my fav). Shoutout to us! Shoutout to everyone that helped! Shoutout to you if you’re reading this!

Love,

Noor

Covid.Cops.Confinement. 2020 was a whole lot by any measure, so please, give yourself a round of applause for making it to the end! It felt like I went through an infinite amount of changes this year, and I’m not alone in that. People across the world simultaneously blossomed and broke down during quarantine, and human beings transformed on a scale never before seen. Creativity abounded and people reinvented themselves on every platform imaginable, from Verzuz battles to TikTok to OnlyFans. But while we were all trying to secure the bag, our world was quite literally burning around us. 2020 tied 2016 for being the hottest year on record, forest fires burned millions of acres of land from Australia to L.A., and lockdowns have done next to nothing to stop the impact of climate change.

We also witnessed a different type of burn that was no less powerful. While George Floyd’s murder was the catalyst for the activism that exploded over the summer, we been knew. We, Black people, have been under America’s proverbial knee since this nation’s inception, and the murders of Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and countless others by the police could no longer be suffered in silence. For the first time, I and many others in my generation hit the streets to join protests against the physical threat of state violence and the inescapable menace of systemic racism. We took cues from our communities and amplified calls to defund the police, to allocate concrete resources to neighborhoods who actually needed them, and stop killing us because of our complexion. We also recognized the importance of centering trans and non-binary people in this fight, as they have always led us in the struggle for liberation while also being the most vulnerable to violence inside and outside of our community. We’re a long ways off from anything resembling justice, but now that we’re here, we won’t ever be silenced again. Period.

This year was marked by so much loss and pain, but we have proven to be resilient. Most of us know someone who was touched by coronavirus—or we were that someone. We lost role models in the entertainment, sports, and public service spheres, and our relationships have been put to the test as we have been forced to learn how to be alone together.

So, we land on metamorphosis: a complete change in appearance, character, or circumstances. That basically sums up 2020 for the flawed mess of a year that it was. In this issue, we at Renegade have tried to encapsulate that sometimes painful, sometimes joyful process of evolving into a better version of ourselves. Because regardless of the path we took to get here, we’re here and thankful for the lessons we’ve learned along the way. As I look towards the future for better days, SZA’s album (please), I am grateful for what 2020 compelled us to do, for better or for worse: to grow.

Y’all be easy,

Dassy