Journalism does not often get the chance to be personal.

Sure, sometimes we cover topics personal to us, and every good journalist does their best to cover and represent the topic the best they can, but too often we have to separate ourselves from the story even if we could add something to it.

Besides opinion columns, it’s rare journalists get a chance to be close to their story, and even rarer when they can add their experience to it. Our goal is to cover the important topics, the relevant ones, and how they intersect with our lives more often than we get to show.

So why not tell stories that you can’t take the reporter out of? Stories that cover current topics from a different lens, that give glimpses into personal lives and raise questions, that give you a new perspective. Stories that are a part of the writer.

In this unique collection of personal stories, we hope you’ll find some you can relate to and perhaps some that will give you a look into experiences outside from your own, expanding your point of view and challenging what you thought you knew.

Or at least that is the hope anyway.

We can read books, news, watch documentaries, but what is more personal than reading the experiences of your neighbors from a first-hand account? Conversations, you would be right, but stories told through those involved come to a close second.

This series aims to spark conversations about race, identity, gender, social norms and the human experience.

Our stories revolve around how we grew up, what we have gone through and even what we loved doing on Saturday mornings. We learn through trial and error, and we hold our experiences like sacred lessons – painful or not.

It can be healing to share parts of ourselves that we may have been guarding for some time with strangers, if and when you feel ready.

Everyone has a story, why not tell yours?

We are hoping to receive submissions from students and community members as well. If you would like to share a story about a particular experience or memory that holds meaning to you, send us an email at [email protected].