Last week, one of our featured stories sported the image of a notebook displaying goals for 2020 wiped out by quarantine.  The article goes on to look at changes that the pandemic has caused, with special attention being brought to education and social stratification.

A few astute readers noted that the image incorrectly spelled the word “quarantine” as “qurantine,” and questioned whether that was intentional or not.  In truth, the image is simply a stock image, as most of the images used in The Voice Magazine are, and so whether that was the intent of the photographer, I don’t know.

It wasn’t, however, my intent at the time, though once it was brought to my attention, I realized it could be.  After all, the article itself was talking about how education would change in the era of the pandemic, and while I’m sure almost all of us here are proponents of distance education, there remain concerns about organizations and institutions that are just getting started with it under these conditions, and what the results of having to rush into a new system might be.

What this brings to light for me, however, is how re-interpreting mistakes can lead us to further insights.  Too often we get caught up in our mistakes, at least, I certainly do.  Self-blame and doubt can take up a significant portion of a person’s day, if they’re not careful.  To this day, I still inwardly cringe when, at some inopportune moment, I’ll remember something I did long ago that caused me or those around me some significant problems, or was simply be being rude to someone who didn’t deserve it because of other things affecting my mood at the time.  I don’t think I’m alone in having those moments, at least, I certainly hope not.

But maybe we should not see the point of those moments is as being to make us silently guilty, as to present us an opportunity to compare how we are today with how we were.  If nothing else, an old mistake can be a memory of how you’ve grown since.   The very fact that those moments can instill discomfort suggests that some growth has occurred at least.  So if you take nothing else from this issue, perhaps take from it the knowledge that the parts of your past that cause you pain are the parts you’ve grown from.  Growing pains takes on a whole new meaning in that light.

But some other things you can take from this issue include a look at classic foreign books, a consideration of how our communication to each other works, by necessity, as a means of limiting our ability to truly understand each other, a look at what back to school used to bring with it, with a pair of old articles pointed out in the Vintage Voice. (Comparing the concerns then to those of today is sort of interesting in itself; how things change.)  Also this issue, fellow student Alek Golijanin brings one of his passions to us, looking at the history of indigenous peoples’ here in North America.  In this case, specifically the Comanche tribes.  Plus, of course, advice, scholarships, events, recipes, and more!

Enjoy the read!