If you asked me where I imagined my life to go when I came to Oregon for the first time about seven years ago, my answer would have had nothing to do with writing. I longed to become a ballet dancer, a career which historically has very little to do with the written word. By the end of my first summer, I thought I was well on my way to reaching this goal after accepting an offer to dance in Oregon Ballet Theatre’s second company, where I would study and perform intermittently for the following two years.
I say “intermittently” because I took a hiatus from dancing at OBT when my dad died unexpectedly in September 2014. If you asked me in September 2014 where I imagined my life would go, I would have said, “I don’t know.” I didn’t know because I couldn’t imagine a world without my dad, let alone me living and thriving in it. Anything I wrote at this time was viciously internal and, to be honest, nonsensical.
Six months later, I made it back to Portland where I remained through the following years of grieving the loss of my dad, transitioning out of ballet and completing my associate’s degree at Portland Community College. About two years ago, I was finally in the position to transfer and declare a major. I chose the University of Oregon because there was an issue processing my declaration to CSU Long Beach, and I am endlessly thankful for that administrative error. That fall, I enrolled at the School of Journalism and Communication as a journalism major.
One year ago, feeling dejected because of the pandemic and the lost connection between myself and my peers, I applied to the Daily Emerald as a copy editor. But, to my joy, I was instead accepted as a reporter for the Arts & Culture desk.
Everything I have learned from the SOJC has been invaluable both as a student of journalism and a student of life. However, it was working for the A&C desk that really allowed me to fall in love with reporting in the same way that I have loved dance all my life. I was once again in the position to tell people’s stories, but with a new and quite different medium. A lot of my work has focused on the unique circumstances the pandemic imposed upon local arts organizations and events, intending to highlight how humanity persists in the presence of great hardship. Writing for A&C also allowed me to fall in love with my temporary home of Eugene, Oregon.
At every point in my life, I was unknowingly making decisions that brought me to where I am now. If you asked me today where I imagine my life will go, I might tell you that I don’t have to imagine. I am a writer and storyteller, and I only intend on becoming better at it. Anyone’s guess is as good as mine as to what that may actually look like in the future. Wherever I go, I will always be thankful for the Emerald and the way I was pushed to become a better journalist here.
Special thanks to A&C desk editor Sarah-Mae McCullough, associate editor Grace Murray and Editor-in-Chief Ryan Nguyen for fostering an incredible environment to work in. And of course thanks to my mom, my brother, my late father and my partner for helping me through the many stages of my life thus far.
