Written by Lindsay Jankowski, co-editor of Opus
Hi everyone! I’m Lindsay Jankowski, one of this semester’s Co-Editors for Hope College’s Opus Literary & Arts Magazine.
Unfortunately, this will be my first and last semester as an Opus Co-Editor. In three short weeks, I will be walking across the graduation stage, shaking hands with President Scogin, and leaving Hope College behind in pursuit of greater adventures. If you are wondering what great adventures lie ahead for me, well. . . I’m wondering, too. I don’t know what my post-graduation life will look like, but I’m confident it will all work out. At least, that’s what I’m telling my parents.
Anyways, let’s move on before I further slide into an existential crisis, shall we? The good news about the semester coming to a close is that I can confidently say—barring an alien invasion or other such problematic events—Opus Soup is happening this Thursday!
Opus Soup, a campus-wide event, celebrates the publication of the newest edition of the Opus magazine. At this event, published artists and authors will speak about their incredible work. Also, attendees can pick up a copy of the Spring 2023 edition! Knot Spot will be catering this event, so if student-curated art and literature aren’t incentive enough, definitely stop by for the delicious pretzels!
This semester’s Opus Soup will take place at 6 pm on Thursday, April 20th in Winants Auditorium, located in Graves Hall.
Keep reading for a super special preview of the magazine’s content!
But first, you should check out our social pages and give us a follow if you want to stay up to date on all Opus happenings!
- Our Instagram is @hopecollegeopus
- Our Twitter is @HopeCollegeOpus
- Find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hopecollegeopus.
- Our website is opus.hope.edu!
Now, on to that sneak peek!
Letters from the Editors:
Eileen’s Letter:
If you’re reading this, then that means we got through another successful semester of Opus with me as a Co-Editor. If you’re curious why I consider that to be an achievement, then I’ll let you in on the little mantra I repeated to myself before every meeting this semester: time to go act like I have leadership skills!
I am not a natural born leader. In fact, I was so much of a follower that I waited for three siblings to be born before I decided to give the ol’ life thing a shot. Growing up, I was like my sister’s little shadow. When she played soccer, I played soccer. When she became afraid of “flushy potties” and “sock fuzzies,” so did I. When she joined choir, I joined choir (which, if you’ve heard me sing, you know I had no business doing). But then we got to college and she decided to major in nursing and uh, yeah… my following days came to a very necessary end.
In all seriousness, being a part of Opus is the best thing I’ve done during my time at Hope. Being Co-Editor has also been one of the most challenging things I’ve done (I had to talk to people on the phone which I’m still recovering from), but I wouldn’t change any of it.
I want to thank Lindsay Jankowsi for stepping into the role of Co-Editor so fearlessly. No one else could’ve gotten me through this semester. I’d also like to thank her for writing “Not Eileen” on our meeting attendance sheet. Although we’re equally in charge, that still felt like insubordination.
To Sophie Mae: you are a God-send. Thank you for designing such a beautiful book — Lindsay and I couldn’t have done this without all of your amazing help!
To Issy Gaetjens-Oleson: you’ve done an amazing job on running our social media this semester and I’m incredibly grateful and proud of you.
And to the rest of the staff: Katelynn Paluch, Kallen Mohr, Gabbie Crone, Sophie Mae, and Abi Vanderwall, you are all such wonderful people and it was an immense honor to work with each of you! Thank you for your grace and patience and being okay that I had to leave the prose meeting early (which, it should be noted, was at my house). And to Abi, thank you for not taking my cats.
Fondly,
Eileen Ellis
Lindsay’s Letter:
As a freshman dedicated to her pre-med studies, I would have been beyond confused if someone told me that during my last semester of college, I would be an Opus Co-Editor and pursuing an editing and publishing career. When Eileen and Adriana invited me to succeed Adriana after her graduation, I cried (check out my nonfiction essay titled “Capricious” for my exact reaction). One million thanks to you both, Eileen and Adriana, for trusting me to lead this organization and the Opus community. Serving as Co-Editor has been one of the best experiences of my college career.
I also need to thank the Opus staff members and advisors, the contributors, and every submitting artist and author. Thank you everyone for your hard work and dedication to this magazine. This was the first time Eileen and I were in charge of the whole process from start to finish, and, to be frank, we were both terrified that the final edition of Opus would be no more than a stack of paper stapled together. Truly, without your help, support, and submissions, this edition would not have been possible. Thank you all.
One particular Opus staff member deserves a special shout-out. Opus’s senior art editor, Sophie Mae, designed this semester’s edition from start to finish, which goes above and beyond her art editor responsibilities. Thank you for devoting your time, energy, and incredible creativity to Opus Spring 2023. This magazine literally wouldn’t exist without you, Sophie.
And lastly, I’d like to give an emphatic congratulations to my Co-Editor, Eileen. We did it.
Opus Spring 2023 is officially more than a stapled stack of paper.
This old old former advisor to OPUS loved feeling your articulate gratitude, intelligence, and warmth.
The future? Took me five years to graduate with four majors and the only thing I knew to do was be kind. Off I went and five years later with only a BA and a ballpoint I tricked Hope into hiring me and 38 years and 14 books later here I sit looking back with gratitude for getting to be with students like you and those you celebrate. 🙏🖊️🙏
See above. Ooooops‼️