Dear reader,

Being an Editor-in-Chief was never an opportunity I thought I would go for. 

I've actually dismissed the notion in the past when my peers have brought up the idea. Every time I have written or said I am EIC this quarter the voice of an old friend from my community college has rang in my ear: “I think it would be dumb for them to not ask you to not be the next EIC!”  At the time she was talking about the school newspaper I was the Photo Editor for. She had also worked there the school year before me and had a bit of insight on how it operated.

After my graduation got set back because of a medical emergency, I thought to myself “Hey I’ll be here another year why the hell not apply! What’s the worst that could happen? I get it and then have to run an entire magazine?”

The next thing I knew I found myself sitting across the table with our adviser Peggy Watt saying, “The theme I have picked for the next issue of Klipsun is Euphoric.”

Adjective: Euphoric

1. Feeling or generating intense happiness, confidence, and a sense of well-being

2. Psychiatry: relating to or experiencing a pathologically exaggerated feeling of happiness, confidence or energy

It’s abstract and that’s what I wanted. When selecting my theme I wanted a word that is positive yet abstract in nature. A theme that would yield us a magazine that the reader would not know what to expect with each turn of the page whether it be design or story. However, as you flip through, don’t be fooled, this is not a feel-good issue. Sometimes in order to get to that level of positive feeling one may first have to dive deep. Deep down into the other side of the feelings spectrum.

I asked the writers to tell their stories, their neighbor's stories, or stranger's stories. I asked them to be bold and have fun. I asked them not to hide behind the fear of being graded or not fully fitting the theme. I welcomed anti-theme and abstract ideas. I encouraged people to argue their points on how their ideas tied into what I wanted us to create. 

I feel that my goal of a unique issue that can stand alone, but also lives within the legacy of Klipsun, has come to fruition. 

As you read through Klipsun: Euphoric I hope you are inspired to figure out what has truly made you feel euphoric in your life. I ask you to be bold, creative and to not avoid taking the easy way out. Life should be fun, have fun.

With love, 

Desiree Erdmann