Right here, Today

To BVU,
Have you ever thought that the work that comes easiest to you is what you’re meant to be doing? And perhaps, deep down, you’ve always understood what you know now, despite your efforts to avoid it?

I became nervous starting this revamp project; I had never taken my writing or creative expression seriously outside of an academic ‘space’. Admittedly, I also did not want to completely botch the work of past Founders and Editors-in-Chief who have since left New Dawn for a new future.

I have been writing and attempting to make meaning of the world around me for as long as I can remember—living as a Black girl in a Nigerian household under the constraints of awkward socio-cultural bounds in the South. The premature nihilist in me thrived on making sense of my material surroundings and the concurrent decisions that impacted everything within my reach. For me, it began in first grade, keeping notebooks, diaries, and logs to make sense of my world and the distant yet familiar feelings I had been experiencing. The lengthy collection of ditsy home films I’ve made over the years with my siblings, the performances alongside my cousins at cultural gatherings, the endless daydreams about the not-so-distant future—all of these were part of my journey.

Yet, I never truly nourished this side of myself. I tucked it away in the binding of old diaries, where it could blend with old ink. Perhaps I was more invested in school or sports, resorting to alternative means to understand my situations and the feelings that accompanied them. Or maybe I was scared of over-intellectualizing my experiences through writing and other forms of expression. More earnestly, I let perfectionism and fear of failure push my craft into unseen, jaded corners where doubt and confusion overshadowed passion.

As I come down from my soapbox, I’ve realized I can’t keep diluting myself to appease a facade I have unknowingly created.

Simply put, it’s not cute. Besides, no one actually cares (take that as you personally interpret it).

So here are my reasons for re-starting New Dawn alongside Rachel: I want to publish work and help others publish their work, and I would like to be part of conversations integral to the foundation of Black Vandy.

I detest the idea of work being ‘perfect’—when really, the work is meant to be as it is.

“It is written” — Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

And so, you only have this version of yourself right now, today. There is so much power in knowing that your everyday experiences are unique and specific to you. Here’s to the power of literature and the intimacy of sharing!

By choosing to read our summer editorial, you are influencing and adding to us, to each other. It is special. There is so much vulnerability in writing, reading, creativity, and, most importantly, sharing. I say all this to gather: creative expression does more than passively reflect a state of being. It holds the locus to transform and innovate your surroundings… It exists on a collective scale, where everyone is constantly tapping into new corners of their expression. Cascading and changing alongside the seasons, it might appear in the form of an unrelenting creative ‘block’ or vibrant lines in poetry.

Cheers to the indelible power of the pen to paper, the thumb to keyboard. Drink it in!

I’m greatly excited to announce the official launch of New Dawn alongside Rachel Johnson and our wonderful support staff at the BCC. Although I am not sure what the future holds for New Dawn in the 2024-2025 school year and beyond, I am excited to be part of its formative revamp process.

I hope others will delight in this opportunity to write for New Dawn. Again, it doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be.

See you soon,