From the Editor

What would you do if you were not afraid? Would you change your life? Take a chance? Create and fulfill your bucket list? I recently read a story about a group of people who were afraid of flying. Deepest fear afraid. The group included young and old, professionals and laborers, educated and uneducated people who were linked by fear. This overwhelming fear had held them back in various ways: visiting new babies, old relatives, funerals, conferences, promotions. They had not seen the places in the world that they wished to see. And they were fed up. Each one had signed up to take a class with a final outcome of a short flight. They were forcing the fear to rear its ugly head, so that they might overcome it. They talked, some prayed, some chanted, some meditated. They took a chance.

My initial agreement to take on the Editor in Chief position for the Pitkin was without fear. I was simply eager. I took a chance. Once the transition was underway, that fear hit me. I did not realize the amount of work involved, from so many. The coordination and cooperation amongst Goddard students from all over the globe was humbling. My fears then changed, wanting to do each of them justice.

Fear. For writers, that fear keeps us from writing, from exploring the true story, from submitting and exposing ourselves to others. I am grateful that, like the people in the article about flying, Goddard students faced their fears. For now we have a new issue of Pitkin. And like the individuals who faced their fear of flying, Goddard students took the leap into the unknown, and now we all reap the benefits. And yes, each of the people in the article flew in that short flight, above the clouds, enjoying a view some of them thought would never be possible. And now a whole world has been opened to them.

Readers, I humbly offer the words within this issue for your enjoyment. A whole world is opened to you.

Christy Keyes
Editor in Chief