Kudzu Launch !!!

     It is often said that the fruits of one's labor provide the sweetest reward, and sure enough, the reward of finally finishing this semester of work on the Kudzu Review was worthwhile. For some months, I had been working at the esteemed Kudzu Review undergraduate publication, which I talk more about in this blog post. However, I won't reiterate what I've already discussed about the work processes, instead, I'd like to talk about how I feel at the end of my first stint working as an editor, and everything I've gained from participating at Kudzu.

    As strange as it sounds to say (or write) out loud, I don't think I've ever had the same amount of satisfaction from working on a larger group project with people. Granted, the scale of a literary publication is a little out of the realm of just a "group project," but even during some of the bigger events I've contributed to, like my brief stint working in technical theater to put on musicals, I just haven't felt as validated as I had after working on Kudzu. I attribute this largely in part to how the Kudzu Review is divided into genre departments, meaning the people I worked with were all passionate about short stories and fiction like myself, and this meant that I already had a baseline interest in common with everyone I worked with, along with it being a smaller group, so everyone knew everyone. It's this sort of environment that resulted in greater discussion, collaboration, and oftentimes spirited arguments over the merits (or lack thereof) of particular submissions, and so it felt like an honest, passionate, close-knit group of friends arguing about stories for fun.

    While the working environment between my coworkers and I was a big part of why I liked working at Kudzu so much, I'd also have to mention the workload. While at first it was a little tedious and annoying, as time went on I was able to develop a better system for getting through my weekful of submissions, and I really found my groove for the workload. I have worked a job in the past, but I haven't really gotten the chance to work on an English/Writing job ever, so getting this experience (both in a literal sense and the resume-filling sense) has been very rewarding and validating that this is what I would like to do in life. Who knew that judging bad writers with good friends would be the key to unlocking career aspirations?

    Finally, after several months of working with a group of talented editors and several time crunches with larger workloads, we met the deadline and selected the handful of stories that we would publish this semester. And with that final meeting, we were done! The next time I would see my editing friends would be at the Kudzu Launch Party that was being held somewhere in Railroad Square, and when that night finally happened, I invited Wade to tag along and meet some friends of mine!

    Getting to celebrate with my coworkers in the cold, refreshing weather was a very gratifying moment for me, because it reminded me how I was just one cog in the larger machine that is Kudzu. Obviously, I gravitated towards some of my closer friends during the event to hang out with and muse about the meanings of art pieces that were exhibited around the room, but I also got to interact with a few more people from other departments who I had never met before, making new friends and making small talk with them about the magazine. It's a silly observation, but its moments like these that make me feel the most validated in my career choice. Getting to connect with complete strangers over our mutual contributions to a project designed to uplift writers and artists just made me feel good to be a part of the magazine, and the feeling of satisfaction and pride I felt when introducing my editing friends to Wade, as well as introducing him to what I enjoy doing after he's been so generous with including me in his film world, really highlighted how I felt about Kudzu as a whole and how I enjoy sharing things with people.

    I know I got a little carried away rambling on about minor details, but to wrap up this post for any potential readers considering pursuing a position at the Kudzu Review (because that happens with people who read my blog, apparently), I cannot recommend this experience enough. Joining Kudzu was one of the best decisions I've made in the last few years, and I am very proud to say I will be a part of this publication for the foreseeable future.