Dear Readers,
I’ve wanted to become a writer since I was a little girl of ten. I’d dream of becoming a best-selling author, I’d dream of being the editor-in-chief for a renowned literary magazine, I’d dream of writing like all of my favourite writers, with the hope that I would strike a chord in the hearts of people around the world.
For the longest time, I wrote voluntarily for various websites, non-profit organisations, my blog and community magazine. Pages and pages of my writing were published, with no pay. But I never complained – because as long as I had the opportunity to write, I was happy. So, when last year, I was offered the position of content writer for the Jacobs University Undergraduate Blog, I was ecstatic. It would be my first stint as a professional writer. It was a small but glorious start and I was naturally thrilled.
Over the span of the past ten months, not only have I written some of my favourite literary pieces, but also met and worked with some of the most wonderful people. Of the different types of articles and interviews I was often assigned, the Humans of Jacobs feature was my most beloved. It allowed me to converse with extremely compassionate and gifted members of the Jacobs community and explore their beautiful lives through an in-depth interview. Transcribing the interview for the blog, so as to not lose any of things the interviewee told me was incredibly challenging and has, undoubtedly, made me a better writer.
Beyond the Humans of Jacobs posts, I wrote travelogues and I wrote lifestyle pieces; I wrote about personal experiences and I wrote about campus events – new genres every month. Every piece that I wrote taught me something new about being a writer and pushed me to the edges of my creativity. Between the workload that comes with being a final year Biochemistry and Cell Biology student, the social obligations we all must navigate as college students and the pressures of paving a path for after graduation, writing 3+ pieces for the blog every month was often an ordeal. But what kept me going, always, was my passion for writing and my love for the Jacobs Community and its myriad happenings. Through everything, writing for this blog has helped me immensely in my journey towards realising my childhood dreams. I have been able to develop and nourish new skill and sharpen some old ones. Should I ever finally receive the chance to interview a famous artist for the Rolling Stone magazine, I will, without hesitation, think about my work at the blog.
With graduation approaching fast, my time as a writer for the blog is coming to an end. It’s extremely bittersweet – as much as it made for an intense schedule, it was like a dream job. I thoroughly enjoyed telling stories about everyone and everything at Jacobs and if I had the chance, I’d do it forever. Jacobs is a beautiful place, and there is always a story to tell.
I’d like to thank each and every one of you for having read what I had to say; nothing makes an aspiring writer happier than an eager audience. I hope you enjoyed reading what I wrote, I hope you’ll tell coming generations about the blog, and I hope I was able to capture even a little bit of phenomenon that Jacobs University is. It has been nothing short of an honour.
With Love,
Ushashi.
