To all who are reading, I was not born a writer. If you were to show my second grade self a list of my current accolades, little me would wonder why I’m not working in a veterinary hospital. I would question my persistence—where is my courage? Don’t you like animals, don’t you want pets? What happened to dreaming of a grey cat with a blue collar named “Percy,” after Jackson? And why do you tense every time you meet the black eyes of a Rottweiler, or the opened, yellow mouth of a Chihuahua? I, as my current self, would answer that it’s because I read a book. It was in fifth grade, and it was a book so bad I decided that I had to write a better one. I’ve been writing since then—stories about teenage boys, and time, and trailblazers, and entities, and wanderers, and most recently, myself.

As I child, I was told more than once that my name could be a famous one, an author’s name. Today, Kennedy Cole, meaning “helmeted chief” if anyone’s curious, is a writer. I’m a senior at the University of North Carolina Wilmington majoring in creative writing and earning a certificate in publishing, which isn’t really a mouthful once you practice saying it a few times fast. I would’ve minored in English too, if I hadn’t figured out that it was a waste of time. My writing is typically speculative. I like to explore the unknown, as most of my life is rooted in not knowing what happens tomorrow. I write about men; I love women, but I can only get men to hug each other if I write about it happening.

History Through Fiction excites me as a recently agented author of a historical fiction novel. It wasn’t my intention to write historically, but as all of my writing—historical or not—is sourced in research, setting my novel in 1970’s Mississippi was an accidental concoction for a journey planted in culture. I’ve learned a lot from the way I put words together. As someone who doesn’t like to plan my writing projects, I tend to surprise myself on the page. I hope to surprise myself again this semester; I’m graduating. I’m scared. What happens tomorrow?

They (as in one professor I know) say that anxiety is simply excitement changing its shape. I have to find the shape in my belly and squeeze it and pinch it until I’m ecstatic, until I can’t wait. And as of now, I truly can’t wait. I long to learn, and I know that History Through Fiction will not only keep me learning, but allow me to grow as I, ironically, look into the future. As a writer who is discovering her place, I am thrilled to have a seat at History Through Fiction’s mahogany table. I hope to use this opportunity hone my experience in publishing, an industry I plan to enter—will enter—at God’s most early convenience.

Outside of wording, I love my people. I love my friends. I scream at video games like Overwatch, Hades, and Stardew Valley, and sleep to ASMR videos. I like to say my favorite genre of music is heavy metal, but it’s really so I can find any other heavy metal listeners out there; we don’t like to give ourselves away too easily. I’m in a book club with two incredible friends; my favorite book is Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, and I don’t think that will ever change. I’m a Christian. I’m bisexual. My favorite season—and the current season—is fall; today, the leaves are breaking, flaking away.