Oh, the horror of it all. It feels as though we are all living in a form of a dystopian world that we would usually only read about on the pages of novels or watch on screens of our favorite Sci-fi stories and movies — now we are reading it on the pages of Substance Magazine. The engagement of our endeavor has now begun to write these stories, once thought to only stay in the imagination.

We are now first-person shooters aiming for a headshot, aiming for our future.

Although the government, anti-vaxxers and our fellow Man have let us down; One day, I hope you can read back at these words and feel a sense of calm that we all yearn for now and tell the stories of yesteryear.

You do not stand alone in the feeling of hardships, pain, trauma, and loss; sadly, those adjectives may be the words that bring us together. In the darkness of it all, and what darkness lurks to fall on us; a darkness that has once tried to pull us down — sometimes prevailing — is not part of the definitory being of ourselves; especially if you are reading this right now. That “darkness” has not pulled you down. We are prevailing, we are surviving, we are doing. Whatever that may be, whatever that may connotate, but we are, and you are.

This semester is something that we had hoped to be different. The 2021–2022 semester at Mt. SAC was something that — I can speak for myself and on behalf of many of my peers — to look back and see that we came out of the fog. This semester, we had hoped for hope when everything seemed hopeless. As defeating it may feel to tell you this, we’re not out of that fog. We are not out of the red. COVID-19 has been shitty to the vast amount of us in its regrettable existence of being the main product of us losing loved ones; we have lost friends and some of us have lost ourselves

Speaking on behalf of the journalism sector of Substance Magazine and as your Editor-in-Chief, I can assure you that I and all my comrades have your back — for those that have vices to placate the feeling of everyday stress or just have a little bit of a “more better time”; and that moment when you lose your footing, we will catch you by your armpits if necessary. It almost feels unnecessary to say “welcome back” because to be honest, we never left. The resiliency of the student body has shown to be that of a force to be reckoned with. This semester will try us in a way that it never has in history, and we have a chance to show our moxie. Nothing, not even a virus that is unseen to the naked eye, can ever kill the spirit of the wanting. Whatever the prerogative that the COVID-19 virus has will not deter us from our goal as students. Don’t give up. This is only a momentary jump to get to the next platform. There is a light to the end of this wormhole of chaos. There is better to come and there is more to come. Do not lose hope.