Dear Readers,

I’ve never considered myself a creative type. I long for structure and neatly-within-the-box thinking, despite my best efforts to create something wholly original. Though this preference has always made it challenging for me to adopt a creative hobby, I recently found an exception—an outlet grounded in precision with room for experimentation: cooking. I admittedly haven’t had much direct experience in the kitchen beyond Cooking Mama on my DSi. My mother, bless her heart, is a wonderful cook, but is staunchly anti-measurements and instructions. We can’t help but laugh as I try to convert her “cucharaditas” and “tilíns” and “chorritos” into measurable quantities over the phone. I suppose that’s where the creativity comes in—filling in the gaps to prevent these dishes from getting lost in translation. 

Our writers this week are also looking inward and feeling inspired. In Feature, Sydney processes her fears about the future as she traverses a frozen lake, while Ellyse meditates on the fragility of maintaining equilibrium. In post-pourri, Rchin contemplates consciousness upon building a snowman. For two of our writers, home is where the heart is. In Narrative, Ben describes the evolution of his relationship with his home in Connecticut as he’s acclimated to life in Rhode Island. Meanwhile in A&C, Alyssa explains how growing up in New Jersey cultivated her thrill-seeking behavior, and how this is reinforced by the band Bleachers’ fast-paced music. As for our other A&C piece, Chelsea talks about The People and how this play inspired her to write about social issues. Our remaining three pieces are best described as odes to creation. In Narrative, Sarah begins making flower arrangements in light of her grandmother’s passing. And in Lifestyle, Katherine reflects on her time at Brown through the process of making kombucha, while Gabi shares with us her love of crafting and knitting. As a delightfully fitting end to this issue, make sure to do the post-themed crossword puzzle by Ishan!

Don’t get me wrong, I know I can always fall back on NYT Cooking for recipes like lemony garlicky miso gochujang brown butter gnocchi and Marry Me Chicken—which I’ve made one too many times for it to be subtle hint-dropping. But if I truly want to keep my culture alive, if I want to share every meal with my parents (even from afar), I must take a page out of my mom’s recipe-less book and develop my own culinary intuition. And while that’s daunting for an amateur chef like me, I’m excited to harness my creativity—to trust my gut. I implore you to do the same, dear Readers, and see where your instincts take you. Take the paths less traveled by and pave some new ones along the way. And if they just so happen to lead you to our latest issue of post-, then you’ll know it was meant to be.

With a dash & sprinkle & pinch of love,
Katheryne Gonzalez
Narrative Managing Editor