From Ellen Grace đź’Ś:
The last time I saw Hadiyyah in person was the day we decided to run for Co-Editors-in-Chief. Early spring, we imagined that come September, the school year would be back to normal. Together, we sat through Dean’s office and VUSAC meetings where we’d realize together that this wasn’t even a possibility. Together, we slowly realized that we probably wouldn’t see each other, or our masthead in person, throughout this whole year.
There’s a special kind of love in collaboration. I know I wouldn’t have made it through this year without Hadiyyah. There’s love in offering support, but, as we have mentioned in a lot of editorials and in our themed Comfort Issue, love is reminding people to care for and about themselves. Throughout our collaboration, we weren’t always very good at telling ourselves to check in with our own health, but we were good at reminding each other, which kept us going.
Balancing stress during a regular school year is already taxing. The pandemic is having a completely different effect on everyone’s lives, changing how we think about the world and our place in it. When I think about love, I think about Hadiyyah, and how much I felt supported as we tackled writing and thinking about the pandemic. I’ll never forget having to edit articles on day of publication in order to raise the death count, percentages of infection, and the number of outbreaks in long-term care homes. When I think about love, I think about our contributors, our writers and artists, and our masthead, who took time and energy to make sure stories got told.
Oh, and maybe the Jojo Siwa TikTok where she introduced us to her girlfriend. That makes me feel love.
From Hadiyyah đź’Ś:
As we write this editorial, I realize that this year has been quite painful in a lot of ways.
That said, I don’t think it’s possible to overuse the word “love.” I opened the working document of this editorial to see that Ellen Grace had written about my support for her and The Strand, and I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with emotion. The love found in collaboration is truly beautiful, a reminder that when we come together to create, we can create the dynamics we want to see reflected in the world. The mutual respect, admiration, and compassion we are able to find in others makes the hard parts of life worthwhile. I have spent a lot of this year (and a lot of my life) feeling inadequate and messy-brained, but knowing that at least a few people see me as a source of support is so validating to both myself and to my work with Ellen Grace to make this new pandemic version of The Strand the best we can for our readers.
I love you, Ellen Grace! I love you masthead! I love you writers!
Though I don’t know many of our readers personally, I truly wish the best for you. And for reading The Strand, for trying your hardest in your classes, for doing your best to take care of yourself, I love you. I admire you for all you do. My hope is that you are able to admire yourself at least 1,000 times more than any cheesy declarations I can make here. Love yourself. I am still learning how to do just that.
