Bex Peterson Editor-in-Chief I been getting a lot of rejection letters recently, and I’m honestly thrilled about it. If they came as actual letters instead of emails, I'd probably save them in a little rejection folder somewhere or pin them to my corkboard. I’m constantly tempted to brag about how many I've been getting over the past few months—it’s not an inordinate amount, somewhere between five and seven, but each rejection letter feels like a little victory. I’m not being ironic about this, either. This isn’t some self-effacing reverse psychology essay on how much I love failure when I’m actually crushed about it. Obviously, an acceptance letter always feels better, and I’ve gotten one or two of those as well. But I really do love my rejection letters because to me, it’s tangible proof Room 1020 - 700 Royal Ave. Douglas College New Westminster, BC, V3L 5B2 604-525-3542 Bex Peterson Editor-in-Chief M editor@theotherpress.ca James Moore Layout Manager M layout@theotherpress.ca Position Open News Editor © news@theotherpress.ca Jess Berget Opinions Editor M opinions@theotherpress.ca Position Open Web Editor © webeditor@theotherpress.ca Caroline Ho Assistant Editor M assistant@theotherpress.ca & R a n Rejection letters and that I’m actually trying. I’ve written in a previous lettitor about my fear of failure and how it’s prevented me from ever really attempting to move forward. One of my goals is to become a published author, for example. But no matter how much I wrote over the past two decades to try and achieve that goal, I never took the next step of submitting my work for publication. I was spinning my wheels with no forward momentum, because I never felt that my work was good enough. I would abandon projects halfway through if I didn’t feel the writing was up to par, and Id refrain from applying for jobs or creative gigs that I felt were beyond me because in my mind, it almost felt like I was insulting the people on the other end of that decision by even putting my name forward. My sister and I decided earlier this year that we've both been stalling our personal progress because of this internal bias against ourselves and vowed to try to get @ theotherpress.ca © editor@theotherpress.ca ¥ © /theotherpress f/douglasotherpress Lauren Kelly Graphics Manager © graphics@theotherpress.ca Sonam Kaloti Arts Editor M arts@theotherpress.ca Morgan Hannah Life & Style Editor M lifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca ©» b |= Isabelle Orr Entertainment Editor © humour@theotherpress.ca Jacey Gibb Distribution Manager Meghan Lin Production Assistant ® 9 over it, declaring this year to be “shoot your shot” year. However, it was only with the help of a few Douglas College professors— Liz Bachinsky and Rick Maddocks—that I managed to start moving past this block. Both instructors encouraged me to start submitting pieces for publication. So, I started buckling down and searching for contests and literary journals to submit to. It hasn't been easy. There was one memorable 24-hour period where I received three rejection letters in a row— one from a literary journal, one from a winter short story contest, and one from a timed writing contest. I'll be honest, I didn't feel too excited about receiving those rejection letters at the time. But on the whole, I do have to say I feel better about myself. If at the end of this year I still have not achieved that publishing dream, at the very least I can look back at all the rejection letters and know that I’ve been moving forward. It’s something tangible to hold onto, Brittney MacDonald Business Manager Cara Seccafien Illustrator Tania Arora Staff Reporter Roshni Riar Staff Writer Billy Bui Staff Photographer Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist Janis McMath Senior Columnist Craig Allan Contributor Cover design by Lauren Kelly Feature layout by James Moore shooting your shot something I can say I have in common with all the published authors and creative voices I admire. I’m climbing the same mountain of “no’s” that they did, and even if I never reach the desired summit of “yes,” the important thing is that I’m still doing the thing I have my heart set on doing. I’m not waiting to be magically plucked from obscurity, I’m working for it, and right now the rejection letters are proof that I’m putting in the time and effort. It’s something to be proud of. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is don't wait to be perfect. Don’t wait for some kind of guaranteed “yes” if it’s something youre really passionate about. The worst anyone can say to you is “no,” and depending on how you frame that “no,” it’s really nothing to be afraid of. Until next issue, Bex Peterson Bex Peterson The Other Press has been Douglas College’s student newspaper since 1976. Since 1978 we have been an autonomous publication, independent of the student union. We are a registered society under the Society Act of British Columbia, governed by an eight-person board of directors appointed by our staff. Our head office is located in the New Westminster campus. The Other Press is published weekly during the fall and winter semesters, and monthly during the summer. We receive our funding from a student levy collected through tuition fees every semester at registration, and from local and national advertising revenue. The Other Press is a member of the Canadian University Press (CUP), a syndicate of student newspapers that includes papers from all across Canada. 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