Many before me have referred to The Lion’s Roar as a baby. However, I do not personally view it this way. A baby is something you create and then nurture into maturity. The Lion’s Roar is more like Frankenstein’s monster. We are taking pieces from separate entities, piecing them together into a cohesive form, and breathing a new life into it. A baby develops its own goals and purpose in life, whereas we get to make the goals for our little monster and choose its purpose. That is one of many great things about this job, but it can also be scary when you are the one making the decisions.

I have all these ideas, but I feel like they are no good because I lack experience. I have a lot to learn, and with every idea I consider, I tell myself that I do not know what I am talking about and should just follow what those before me did. However, I know that if I did do that, I would disappoint my bosses, the editors before me and myself. That is why I will try to find the courage to explore more possibilities.

With that being said, my goal for our little monster during my time as editor-in-chief is to better connect with our audience by putting positive energy out into the community and making the newspaper more relatable and digestible for college-aged students. As I learn more about running a newspaper, I am looking forward to adding my own flavor to this little monster in a way that I have never been able to before.

Through my time working at The Lion’s Roar, I have learned so much about myself, about my likes, dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. Now, as editor-in-chief, I would like to color The Lion’s Roar with my own essence. Dr. Lind always says that the paper takes on the personality of the staff, especially the personality of the editor. When I began working here in the fall of 2016, I knew I would eventually become an editor, but I never thought I would one day be editor-in-chief. Now, here I am trying to figure out how I would like to make the paper uniquely mine.

When painting a work of art, artists use a palette to mix paint to make their desired colors. This same word defines retroactively as well. You can observe the painting then determine the colors used, and the result is also called a palette. I love to compare a palette to the human soul in this way.

As you grow into adulthood, your experiences mix the pigments on the palette to make the colors of your soul. Then, you learn about yourself by discovering the colors on the palette of your existence. I believe that as you realize each new hue to yourself, you should leave a bit of your essence to mark where and how you have been in the world. Since The Lion’s Roar has helped me discover my palette more than I ever thought possible, I would like to use the colors I have found as the foundation for the new life The Lion’s Roar will have with me.

Using my palette, and with the help of my staff and your support, I believe we can make this little monster into a proper lady.