The Monthly

I remember the first time I wrote a letter from the editor for my high school’s magazine. I was (and still am) nervous that I would sound too serious and not make profound enough statements, that I wouldn’t give people enough to talk about like those who wrote before me. 

I’m very excited to be the new editor of The Monthly and thankful for the guidance I’ve gotten from previous editors. I hope to carry on the legacy of exciting and reliable content, but I’m also excited to blaze my own path for this desk. 

If there’s anything that I’ve learned over the past year, it’s that living with a focus on the past is detrimental. This time in 2020, I was patiently waiting for COVID-19 cases to go down, for lockdown to lift and for my trip back to campus so I could be with my friends and live my life the way I had planned. But as months went on and things only got worse, I realized that holding onto the hopes of going back to a pre-coronavirus life was making me sad and that I needed to adapt to the present. 

I started to look at the world around me and enjoy the little things that I took for granted before — getting coffee with friends, listening to live music performances, being with my family and even spending time in the sun.  

And even after returning to Evanston, there hasn’t been much to look forward to for months. I was stuck inside trying to escape the cold and COVID-19 while trying to create joy in my daily routine. But with the weather warming up and vaccines rolling out, I’m feeling more optimistic about the future. While I’m excited to be able to do more and take new risks (all while adhering to CDC guidelines!), I still want to continue to be grateful for the small things. 

I’m very excited about the stories in this issue of The Monthly and I hope these stories will also give you some feelings of optimism. I hope you try to find small bits of joy in the world around you. 

Email: [email protected] 

Twitter: @janeaAwilson