Letter from the Executive Director

Hey reader,

Thanks for picking up this copy of the Wake. Whether you’ve never seen this mag before, or if you’ve been reading it for years, I hope you’ll appreciate this issue focused on community and crime, and a feature story that we did with our dear friend, RadioK.

On another note, let’s talk about fall. For me at least, this season has always been about transformation, whether I’m ready for it or not. There’s a lot of growing out of plans, ideas, and friends, then cultivating new ones. Ok, maybe the delete the “developing new plans” part. As a student in the last year of college, I’ve been having a lot of conversations with various sources lately that start with anxiety-provoking questions. You know, those “What’s next?” and “So what do you want to do…?” questions. When these conversations originate from my peers, it’s calming to hear people mimic my response by admitting, “I have no idea either.”

And that leads me, perhaps haphazardly, to a thought that I just had while driving back from Duluth with a few friends. In the midst of a particularly warm and intimate conversation, I thought, “I want to etch this into my brain and never let it slip out of my memory.” I suddenly remembered a few other recent moments when I felt this way: My last night at Sporty’s, taking myself on a date to look at the fall colors, awkwardly swing dancing with strangers, and staring at myself in the mirror as Kali Uchis sang from my rickety speaker, “No one’s going to save you now / So you better save yourself.” Then I realized that there are probably many other, old moments that I’ve promised to keep in my mind that just aren’t there anymore. It’s like a blunt awareness that prompts existential nausea, but also produces an eerily grounding and comforting feeling.

It would be sickenly cliche and boring for me to say, “I should live in the moment!” or “Be present!” But I’ll just say, we’re really just all out here vibing, aren’t we?

In short, please check out the stories told in this issue and those that will keep coming from our staff, interns, and freelance writers/artists. We owe it all to them!

As I’ve typed a million times before:

Thanks!

Macie