The Kudzu Review Experience

     Hey! This year I had decided that one way or another, I would finally push myself out of my comfort zone and make an effort to participate in extracurriculars and college organizations, since I was kind of a shut-in during my freshman year. With the new year, many changes had occurred to my life, and I figured that if there was ever a time to put myself out there and make new friends and connections, it would be now. So, over the summer, I had submitted an application to the Kudzu Review, which was an undergraduate literary magazine that I had heard good things about and read about during the year before. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the application process, but by the end of the summer I had received a decision: I would be an assistant editor for the fiction department in Fall 2024!

    My role at Kudzu was simple: each week I'd be assigned a batch of short stories to read, review, and critique, and every Tuesday we would meet and discuss them as a group, deciding which stories we might publish at the end of the semester. Admittedly, most of the stories were long, boring, and poorly written, and while this was a struggle to get through when I would critique the stories on my own, the in-person group discussion would prove to be entertaining, educational, and spirited. Oftentimes, there would be stories that some people hated which other people really liked, and the discussions that sprouted from these conflicts were always civil but heated, as each side presented their argument. Initially, I didn't really participate in these discussions, since I felt like "the new guy" and I was getting a feel for how this group worked, but as I slowly began sneaking in more and more critiques of the stories in group discussions and started voicing my own thoughts on the stories, I felt myself becoming more comfortable with the group.

    I think joining Kudzu was probably the best decision I made this semester. Not only was it great for my resume and building my interest in English, writing, and publishing, but it also really helped widen my social circle and exposed me to a group of people that, for once, share the same interests as me professionally. My whole life, I've always been friends with people who aren't the same as me, because I valued diversity and variety with friends. With everyone having different interests, there was always something to talk about, to teach, and to seem good at to others. However, I realize that while this was good for me at the time, I really missed out on having friends with a similar interest to me with writing, English, or storytelling. It's been so refreshing to have a group that knows what I'm talking about when I rant to them, or a group that I can relate to with experiences and issues with out careers. Socially, I needed Kudzu. Not that I was struggling to make friends, but rather I started valuing a new type of friend, and that was what really helped me come into my own identity more this semester.

    Overall, I'm really, really happy I took a leap of faith and applied to be an assistant editor for Kudzu. By putting myself out there, I really benefitted in every way possible, and I'm looking forward to each new semester, both to continue building my role at the magazine, but also to hang out with such an interesting, welcoming group every week :)