Editorial Advisor:

When she’s not hiking, swimming or playing tennis, Kiara Koenig writes poetry and prose and teaches at Yuba College. She believes the best writing, like the best tennis, occurs in the interplay between skillful control and fierce abandon.

Contributors:

Jasmeen Bassi, or Jassi, attends CSU Sacramento, and is getting her BA in English Literature/Creative Writing with a minor in Asian American studies. She is currently working on a poetry collection that focuses on her Indian heritage and culture. Jassi is a firm believer in her personal motto: “Words are as powerful as we make them to be.” Her ultimate goal as a poet is to create poetry that demands her readers to feel emotion that inspires them to get a better understanding for the world around them. Kahlil Gibran is the Virgil to Jassi’s Dante. “Our mind is a sponge; our heart is a stream. Is it not strange that most of us choose sucking rather than running?” (K. Gibran) She admits most of the time, she does choose to suck (learn) rather than run (live) because she knows that the knowledge she acquires will lead her to follow her heart.

Chloe Butcher wants to live in a world where you can eat Ben & Jerry’s and never gain weight, gender equality is a reality not a movement, and movies are as good as the book.  Chloe has been a student at Yuba College for almost two years, but only recently discovered the wonders of Shakespeare. Because hey, that stuff can be pretty hard to understand despite the timeless message. She hopes to transfer to UC Santa Barbara next year as an English major. Where she is excited to learn more about writing and analyzing great texts and plays. When she’s not studying her little heart out or working hard at the biggest fast-food chain in America (McDonald’s), you can usually find her watching obscene amounts of television without a trace of shame or taking her Siberian Husky on long walks.

Jeremiah Looney is currently working towards a bachelor’s degree in Business despite not knowing what to do with it. He is planning on transferring from Yuba College to Chico State in 2017. While he does work very diligently at avoiding anything that sounds like work, he has been known to complete projects occasionally. Due to this habit, reading and video games have maintained their place at the top of his to do list for quite some time. The current books sitting at the top of his to do list areCalamity by Brandon Sanderson and The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks.

Jodi Scheer Hernandez was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and finally, at age 38, decided to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher. She has been an avid reader since the age of two and loves the use of language and words. Jodi is currently an English major at Yuba College and an activist within the surrounding community. She looks forward to obtaining her Bachelors degree in English with a possible minor in Sociology from CSU Sacramento and continuing her education toward her Masters, while teaching middle school or high school English, preferably to students in poverty stricken, low-income, and diverse communities.

Tou Thor is a simple man, with simple dreams. He loves to read and write in his free time, and is a hopeless romantic. He aims to create compelling stories and characters that help normalize people’s perceptions of the LGBTQ community. Although he is currently majoring in English, he is looking into the prospects of becoming an adoption social worker. As Jay Bell, one of his favorite authors, told him, “To work with children is the task of heroes.” Tou’s recommended reading list includes Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz and the Something Like series by Jay Bell.

Erica Valdez was born and raised in Northern California, and currently lives in Live Oak. She has been attending Yuba College for three years, and is majoring in Mass Communication. She is a writer and illustrator; she writes poetry and stories. She hopes to someday to turn her book into a film. “Dream big, work hard, stay focused & surround yourself with good people.”

Mercy Yepez: I was born and raised in the Yuba County area. This is my second semester at Yuba College, and I plan on transferring to CSULA. I like to live day by day and figure life out along the way. I like to approach just about everything in a simple and minimalist manner. I am a huge fan of all things Disney and horror-related, but my biggest source of daily happiness, along with animals, comes from music. I spend the majority of my time reading musicians’ autobiographies and religiously watching documentaries. Aside from that, I aspire to promote representation of minorities, self-love, and having compassion for all living beings. Although I don’t know exactly what I want to be yet, I hope to have a positive impact on the world; even just on one person would be cool.