My name is Ann Carin Niland. I’m a 36-year-old LGBTQ+ single mother attending Cabrillo with the intention of pursuing a masters in English. And while that might be a mouthful of labels, they can only give you a vague idea of who I am. I know that we are not defined by our labels, but they can help give us an idea of our communities, our selves, our past, and our path forward.

The reason I took journalism for a second semester is because no mater what we write about, the topic affects more than just the people involved in the story; I adore seeing how we are all connected, and I wonder why people do the things they do. So often the answers are entrenched in our shared history. Once we start down the rabbit hole of what motivates us, the entire spectrum of human emotion is fair game.

Sometimes our society can feel very separated by tiny glowing screens, conveying a nonstop stream of information. We deserve to be connected through a deeper understanding of our stories. And no matter who is telling that story we all have our own perspective on what is being said, and what is being left out.

I’ve always been confounded by the limitations of language. Meaning can often be lost or obscured because of words. Now the entire profession of journalism has been called into question by people that are well trained to use words like weapons, and they work alongside organizations that claim the title of journalism.

In a time when our culture is inundated with sensationalism, fame, and perfection I hope to work along side my fellow students and bring the focus of this publication to what I think has been missing in so many news publications: the way it all affects us, and the day to day world we live in.

A wise woman once told me that we can’t all be leaders, some of us have to be the first follower or the leader just looks like a lunatic. This semester I find myself leading the charge for The Voice. But as a student, and a member of the human race I am here to learn, and I need all of our readers to be a part of the conversation so that all of us at The Voice are able to learn what you need from the future of journalism in your community. Social media likes are appreciated, but leave a comment, email us. I implore you to reach out and start up a conversation about the things that affect you directly. Last semester the feed back few received was so minimal. Make your voice be heard.