So in these first batch of blogs, it makes perfect sense for everyone to be writing about these unprecedented times and the situation of social distancing/quarantine. A lot of concerning things are occurring right now, but I have noticed that quite a few spots of light have been sparking out of this darkness. I would like to share one during this blog (which may or may not be self-promotion but bear with me). During the second week of quarantine, I was lucky enough to be enveloped into a spectacular project created by my peers from a writing workshop I attended this year. They were starting a literary magazine: The Incandescent Review to give teens a platform to express their feelings about world problems and to produce a creative outlet. The name “incandescent” has two meanings, that of an illuminating gleam and a fiery passion while also holding the words “I can.” Their mission resonated with me and I was ecstatic, practically bursting with a need to get started. The crazy part was that the majority of these people didn’t know me at all, they just recognized me from the workshop. While I had made a lot of loving friendships this summer, with over a hundred kids it was impossible to connect with them all. I was amazed at the friendliness and kindness that they extended toward me, I had just joined them yet I was immediately comfortable joining their banter and jokes while feeling confident in expressing my opinions on the creation of the Review. 

 I am so proud to say that our first Spring Issue of The Incandescent Review is coming out, tomorrow, Sunday, April 19th. And while there was a ridiculous amount of hard work put in by its staff there was an equal amount, if not more, of love flowing into this project. I have been so blessed at this opportunity and I have so much respect for my fellow staff members. When reading the (80+!!!) submissions, I was shocked at the wide range of topics and the amount of talent that I was lucky enough to read. The work being featured in this issue is a fresh take on the problems that this generation is facing, and portrayed beautifully. I hope that this magazine will inspire others to create during this time, and turn the darkness into an incandescent light (I know, a terrible pun, but I had to). Check it out at theincandescentreview.org!