Reflection

When I set out to become a member of the editing team I never expected to feel the vast amount of emotions that I experienced while surveying submissions. I mean, yes, I understood that art in all forms allows you to experience emotions. Whether through writing, music, or art, there are limitless options in which people choose to express their artistic character and all those forms give emotion to the observer. However, what I experienced while going through submissions was like a personal connection. I was humbled by the beauty captured with human skill. I was brought joy that I took through the rest of my day reading the accounts of magic shoes and delicate snowflakes. I was genuinely disturbed when, as a reader, I had an encounter with the angel of death. Through all the submissions, as an editor, I connected with it on a different level than I believe I would have as simply a reader. 

  One of my favorite experts from the 20th edition of Northern Eclecta is The House I Grew Out Of. I grew up in a large house in the country that I have lived in my whole life. When I came to college, I often experienced homesickness when dwelling on the memories I remember there. Tire swings, sunsets, late summer nights, cooking with my family…all the sweet moments of a home I grew out of. This poem encompassed a nostalgia and wonder that I could personally feel and connect with.

 I am thoroughly grateful to have been offered the opportunity to be an editor for Northern Eclecta, it was a joy. I will always remember the initial wonder that each submission brought, all in a new and different way, yet each just as striking.

-Eliana