Volume 8 (2021)

From the Editors

Dear Reader, Welcome to the 2021 edition of AWE: A Woman’s Experience. Our team of editors and our graphic designer, the authors and artists included in this issue, and our advisor Dr. Marlene Esplin showed incredible adaptability in working and collaborating entirely online during the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are immensely proud of them for their efforts. The optimism, effort, and dedication of each team member are what made this edition of the journal possible. Throughout our meetings, we felt honored to read many powerful, raw, and authentic submissions. Although we could only accept a limited number of them, we would like to personally thank all of the artists and authors who shared their stories with us through their work. To say it was a privilege to be entrusted with the vulnerable, artistic expressions of their lived experiences would be an understatement. Each story’s worth has magnificent, intrinsic value, as do each of the voices who share them with us. As always, the goal of AWE: A Woman’s Experience is, quite literally, to share women’s experiences. Our hope is that this issue of the journal will inspire you both with its contents and with its mission as you strive to lis- ten ever more closely to the voices and perspectives of those around you. May you also find the courage to share your own story with the world— for it is our belief that each of us have so much to share. During such an isolating time as this pandemic has been, we have an even greater need for connection and authenticity. We are grateful to all of those here at BYU who have taken steps toward that goal by sharing their work with us, and we are grateful to you for your efforts to do likewise. Gratefully, Kayla Bach & Hannah Snarr