How fast a year flies by! It’s been a long, sometimes intense, but very rewarding year here at BTSB, especially for me. When I decided to take on the role of Chief Editor here, I had a lot of people question why in the world I would want to take on yet another project and new responsibility. Though the Chief Editorship is a privilege to be able to take on, my schedule had been over-stuffed for a long time already, so I guess in that sense the skepticism was justifiable.

There are many perks of doing an editorship (not to mention a chief editorship), for example it can be valuable exposure to skill sets and conventions that will be useful in working life. My attraction to the task however arose from a much bigger and more primal human need that has plagued mankind since the dawn of time: the urge to create, the urge to tell our story - most of all, the urge to leave our mark on things. In a way this was my opportunity to imprint a tiny bit of myself into the tradition of BTSB, and to see what I would make of my year. Writing for BTSB during my University years has been very important for me personally, and being able to continue that tradition of steering this ship of journalistic prowess was something I wanted to do for me - out of my own personal interest. Hopefully the process gave something positive for all of us. On that note I encourage all of you to follow you passions and maybe leave your own faint signature on time.  Somehow we all tie into this history of stories upon stories of human destinies.

And the history continues also at the University as the halls of metsätalo call new generations of students again. If you are a new freshman here, welcome! If you are one of us oldies, welcome back! To brighten up those last summer days check out Jesper’s Back to School Playlist! Elina also writes about the genre of music, as she uncovers just what the legend Freddie Mercury means - for her personally and for popular culture at large. We also cover more serious topics as Danielle takes a look into the accessibility issues that pester those seeking mental health treatment in Finland. Aleksi once again brings us a fantastic short story with a twist you would never have expected, while Anthony’s newest poem “Vermin” will definitely stay with you even after you’re done. I am more than proud to hand over the Chief Editorship to the hands of Hanna, who has already been a long standing and distinguished editor and administrator of multiple different roles here. I can’t wait to read the next issues!

And with those final words, thanks, over and OUT!

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash