Letter From The Editor
3 years ago, I attended my very first Loco staff meeting. I was a mere freshman, full of nerves and anxious energy, surrounded by self-assured upperclassman. I had no journalism experience and no idea why I was there. To be honest, I didn’t actually want to be involved. My professor at the time had recommended it to me, but I only said yes because I’m kind of a suck up. Sure, writing for an online magazine seemed cool, and of course, it would be great experience, but mostly I was in that room because I wanted to impress my professor and because my mom told me to do it.
About 15 minutes into the meeting, though, I realized that I was way over my head and my “I can’t do this” spidey senses kicked in. I felt alone and vastly unprepared. When it ended, I immediately ran back to my dorm room, flung myself on my bed, and vowed to never return. Loco just wasn’t for me. It wasn’t until my professor told me that I was beyond capable of writing for Loco that I decided to not give in to those tingly spidey senses. I would go to the next meeting and make it work, damnit!
Now here I am 3 years later, writing for the 18th (and my final) issue, and running the show. To this day, I can’t tell you why I was so upset or why my immediate instinct was to quit and never look back. It was just the way my brain handled the situation. These moments of split-second decision making happen all the time, which is why we decided to dedicate this very special issue to the concept of fight or flight.
Sometimes we make bad decisions, sometimes we make great ones. Sometimes we’re faced with paralyzing fear or indescribable anger. Sometimes we have to fight, and sometimes we have to flee. This issue, we talk about all these silly feelings and tough decisions, with articles ranging from heading west and going behind bars to experiencing harassment. We get literal and talk about planes, and we get silly and talk about Skymall. There’s nerdfighters and fashionistas and sports. It’s an edition packed with exploring impulses and what it means to choose between running and toughing it out.
Coincidentally, half of the staff are graduating in a week, and we’re about to get out into the real world. Will we fight or will we fly? We don’t know yet. We’ll just have to wait and see where the world takes us.
Like usual, don’t be shy! Comment on the articles you love, share with your friends, and let us know how you feel. We don’t bite- I swear! And, most importantly, from all of the seniors here at Loco Mag, thank you. It’s been one hell of a ride and we’re so happy you were a part of it.
