Dear readers,

I have a confession to make. Unlike all of the other 12 editor’s notes that I’ve written under duress of time, hunkered down in the corner of our charming little production room, I am writing this final one—lucky number 13—ahead of schedule from the comfort of my beloved School of Engineering Café. I spend a lot of my time here, amongst the crossfire of conversation that has frequently graced our “Overheard at Brown,” surrounded by parasocial acquaintances with whom I’ve lived my entire college experience, and, when I’m lucky, shared with my closest friends. Today I chose here, my second favorite student hub on campus, so I could cherish every last moment I have in my first. 

Tonight, I’ll gather for the last time with some of the most compassionate, loving, hilarious, brilliant people you’ll ever get the good fortune to meet, and we’ll polish up this final edition of post- for the semester. There will be a cornucopia of snacks, and a mushy icebreaker, and a few top ten candidates that we’ll inevitably need to cut. Undoubtedly, I’ll queue Silk Chiffon, and These Walls, and Buddy’s Rendezvous, those songs that will forever live in the post- corner of my heart. We’ll rehash some memories of ghostwriting, and last minute collages, and homemade chai, and dogs eating homework. I admit that there have been weeks over the past four years that I’ve wanted nothing more than to speed out of this room as quickly as I can, get to Jo’s before they stop making panini’s, finish up that assignment before midnight, race over to my next extracurricular. Tonight, I’ll take my time.

I have an invitation for you, to whom I am so grateful that you have chosen to spend your time and your attention on us, to cherish the stories we have this week. In Feature, Nahye unpacks the privilege and alienation of being bilingual. Narrative is stretching the limits of time, from one lightning quick Eras tour trip up north in Sarah’s piece to one century well-lived and -loved in Ana’s story about her grandmother. Our Arts & Culture for the week has us looking at the delight of Wicked’s press tour and the comfort of The Real Housewives with Ann and Sofie’s pieces respectively. Meanwhile, Lifestyle writers Reina and Katherine are looking local, with the former learning to love our little Providence, and the latter turning her house into a home with seasonal decorations. For a game this week, we’ve assembled the dream team—AJ, Lily, Will, Ishan, and Tabitha—to create our second ever full-sized crossword! All hands on deck for our last issue, as we also have tiny love stories from Faith, Mason, Camryn, Elysee, and Olivia in post-pourri as well as Tarini’s reflections on her classroom doodling. There’s a lot to love this week, so take your time with it—hold it tight, hold it close.

And now, to finish this final editor’s note that, honestly, I started writing before I even wrote my first. See, way back in December of my first semester, my first editor-in-chief—Olivia Howe, our whimsical, warm, wonderfully-wacky leader—coined the term “post- ghost” in her farewell to this magazine. This was the first in my eternal canon of magical post- goodbyes, followed by Kyoko, and Siena, and Aditi, and Kimberly, and too many of our brilliant writers who have bared their hearts and opened their souls for this magazine. Since then, I’ve been obsessed with this inevitable parting piece, so much so that I have started six, yes six, separate Notes pages all titled “post- endings,” filled with disjointed sentences about the endearing charms and quirks of this sweet, sweet group of writers and editors and readers and illustrators and designers. How to capture my unbounded love for all these people, for telling their stories, for carving pumpkins and hanging trinkets on the wall and oversharing and coming together because we agree how important and powerful and beautiful this all is? The past three and a bit years have gifted me this family for which I will never have the words to fully express my adoration and appreciation. All I can say is thank you.

Signing off,
Joe Maffa
Editor-in-Chief