It’s been two years since our last issue and around two-and-a-half since the day I discovered Vanderbilt Lives. That evening, I had been scrolling through the school’s multicultural newsletter and came across a recruitment poster for editors. As I read through the flyer, something about it touched me. 

As students, our thoughts are often scattered everywhere. Seniors search for their future careers while freshmen attempt to figure out their new life chapter. When we don’t have enough hours in a day, we give up our nights. We work so hard to salvage a few hours where we can rest and, between these necessities, we also desperately try to make connections with the people we care about. All this leaves very little time for us to spend on ourselves. 

For a brief moment, the words in that flyer pulled me out of this cycle. It questioned the core of who I am – something I rarely seemed to contemplate whenever life got busy. The imminence of the future urges us to focus on the present, but Vanderbilt Lives pulls us back, reminding us to not forget who we are. And it continues to do so, a bit differently each volume. 

In this year’s issue, our student authors tell the stories of their journey through an unknown. Hence, the title, “Wander”. True to its name, “Wander” gives voice to those who are trying to find another piece of themselves or still coming to terms with what already exists. 

Though we often attribute our growth to specific moments in our past, we hope “Wander” allows us all to remember that each change is the culmination of everything we have been.