It's June. The day is the 24th. The last time I created an issue of this zine was in February—four months ago. Since then, my life has changed so much. When I started this zine, I was a former 'gifted' student suffering from the combined damage of years of having literally no friends, tons of sleep deprivation, and layers upon layers of bad habits, and much more—you get the point. Nowadays, I've improved my grades and study habits significantly—getting all A's last term, with full marks in 4 subjects. And for a brief period in late February, I had everything I had ever wanted—a friend group, a close friendship, a good social standing at school. I was on top of the world.
But all this changed. The gigs stopped happening. I stopped talking to the band people I used to talk to because I had nothing to talk about. A fucking cyclone meant staying inside, shitty weather, and lots of repair work, making hanging out or going outside impractical. My best friend had to deal with some horrible life circumstances. Through all of this, I ended up focusing my attention on academics, because what else was I going to do? This decision would ultimately cause me to value 'success' over happiness and flexibility, and was ultimately detrimental.
From the archive. Editorial · 24 June 2025 · phone notes carried verbatim.