Letter from the Voices Intern

Dear Reader, 

When I was younger, I never was able to answer the question, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” It plagued me for a long time. When I joined The Wake as a contributor last year, I had just realized that I wanted to write for the rest of my life. Finally, an answer! I wanted writing to be my career, my hobby; writing was what I wanted to do. It empowered me to express what was bouncing around in my head all the time. More than that, it allowed me to say something about the world. Writing had become what I believed I was meant to do. It was a dream of mine. The problem was, something didn’t feel right; I was deeply uncomfortable dreaming. I hesitated to imagine a future where I was a writer because it scared me. Maybe the fear represented moving along in my life, finally leaving the innocence of my adolescence behind. Maybe I was afraid that I wouldn’t be good at it. Or maybe I was just afraid to try something and put my full weight behind it, to really give something a go. Nevertheless, I did.

Joining a new club as an already overwhelmed student can be daunting itself. My fears were assuaged when I first stepped virtual foot in the Zoom meeting. From day one I saw people joking around, making connections, and I saw a group that didn’t judge people based on how they came in, but rather valued people based on what they had to bring to the table, their presence, their thoughts, or their writing. It’s incredible how this university has so much to offer to us as students, but I think we often overlook how much effort is put in by students to build community on campus or online. Whether through a pitch meeting or making edits mid-week, The Wake offers a boost when I really need energy or momentum. The Wake is the perfect example of student-led, student-focused community that can foster not only growth as an organization, but also as a collection of individuals, each growing and changing in their own right. I can say first hand that I’ve done a lot of growing since becoming a Voices Intern this fall.

The Wake is far more than just a place for me to practice writing. It allows me to challenge myself to do something. Anything at all. To put words on the page and to produce a result. When I first started at the Wake, I wondered if there was ever going to be an audience for what I had to say. I doubted that there would be anyone out there who wanted to hear me. That’s a lonely feeling. The way out of that loneliness was through vulnerability. I chose to write a review, to pitch a story, to do what I was scared of, and it all paid off.

It’ll pay off for you too; whether you’re reading, or you want to contribute someday, or you have another dream that you’re chasing, it’ll be worth whatever you put in.

Best wishes, 

Carter Starkey