As a senior, this has been a year of lasts. Of leaving. Of using my last school supplies, running out of paper, and not finding a reason to buy a new ream. This has been a year of cardboard boxes. Wrapping college in tissue and duct taping the ends. Of new addresses. New homes.

Throughout the last couple years at Douglas Anderson, poetry has become my way of breathing. I write what I don’t understand, what I want to know, what I want to forget, apologies. I write about mountains and rivers and trees and seasons. I write poems about leaving.

Sometimes, I’ve found, that writing what is real is the most difficult to do. It’s been hard for me to accept the fact that I won’t be able to call my friends next year, tell them I am outside their homes and want to get burritos. It’s been hard for me to accept the fact that I won’t park next to their cars every day, walk to classes in the morning, steal their lunches. I’ve begun putting these feelings into poems—suffocating my fear in similes, worries weighing heavy on the words.

Although I often feel lost in all of these lasts, I know that I have to appreciate them for what they are. I have to remember the last looks. The last bits of laughter. I have to remember it all and turn them into words. Into poems.

If you’re feeling stuck and need some inspiration, here are my favorite poems about leaving, and remembering:

• Fifth Grade Autobiography by Rita Dove

(http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/182222)

• Heavy Summer Rain by Jane Kenyon

(http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/238652)

• You Can Have It by Philip Levine

(http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/179090)

— Raegan Carpenter, Poetry Editor

Over the course of this school year, our staff created a whole new position for getting our name out and really advertising the launch of our books and the work that we do. Being the first social media editor, there was a lot to do, and so much to leave behind.

I had the privilege of having junior social media editor Madison work under me and really help prepare the role of what social media is. During book launches, it consists of consistent and multiple posts throughout the week to help promote the work from all of you. Madison and I wanted to ensure that your voices would be heard farther than the boundaries of our school. We were really excited when we got our first outside submissions, because that meant we were doing something right. So to guarantee that more would come, we researched other magazines and studied their social media habits to see just how well they reached out to their writers and readers as well.

In doing that, we created ways to stay involved and keep in contact with you as much as we could. Thus, Mondays and Fridays were dedicated to posts about our current book. We highlighted what we felt best represented the caliber of both art and writing that we publish. That way not only could we show our gratitude and appreciation of the talent that you have, but also spread the word.

Without a doubt, this position was a time-consuming but rewarding job to have. I feel each and every staff position is crucial to the success of this publication, social media being the driving force to help find all of you. I am completely satisfied in the work that we have accomplished (although I know next year, it will run more smoothly,) and I hope you enjoy your new social media editor, Madison, as much as I did. The next chapter to Élan is in such incredible hands and I couldn’t be more confident in the way all of our future seniors will do.

So thank you readers for making our jobs on this staff so incredibly rewarding and fulfilling. We could not produce the work that we do without you. I know this publication will thrive, and I am so happy to have been a part of it.

— Haley Hitzing, Social Media Editor

This is my second year as non-fiction editor, and during my time here my coeditor and I have constantly struggled with obtaining as much work as the fiction and poetry editors. Non-fiction is a neglected form of writing, yet in my eyes it is one of the most beautiful, most personal. It allows writers to put themselves on paper, their story, their past, and their fears. My favorite part of my role on Élan staff is reading through the pieces, discovering who the writers are. I feel as though I get the chance to see a private and personal sliver of dozens of lives as papers pass through my hands.

When I was first chosen to be on the Élan staff as a junior, I was overjoyed. I had admired the magazine since I was a freshman, marveled at the eloquent and powerful pieces. However, I noticed that something was missing—the magazine featured an obvious absence of creative non-fiction. Non-fiction is a genre that I fell in love with early on in my writing career. A personal essay that I wrote in my sophomore year was my first piece to ever receive recognition, when I won a national silver medal in the Scholastic Art and Writing Contest. When I applied for the position of non-fiction editor, I took a pledge to bring a new wave of non-fiction to the magazine.

This year, Shamiya, my coeditor, and I have completely revolutionized the non-fiction submission process. We have reached out to younger writers, held workshops, met with students afterschool, and gone above and beyond to provide thorough comments on pieces. Not only have we increased to overall volume of work, but we have also improved the quality. I am so excited to leave the legacy of non-fiction in Shamiya’s hands next year. She shares my love of the genre, and I know she will do amazing things as she continues to move the non-fiction section of the magazine forward.

— Emily Jackson, Creative Nonfiction Editor