Co-Editors Reporting to Duty!

Well, well look who finally made it! After what felt like centuries of trying to get this together, here we are at last! (Let us confess, co-writing was quite the struggle!) 

As many of you might have already heard, the Editorial is fondly known as home for Rotaractors who love to put their thoughts into paper, and WE have no argument there. I think it’s safe to say that most of our contributions to Rotaract over the past year have been through the Editorial. (Not saying that we slacked when it came to other projects!) Honestly though, the Editorial gave us freedom to voice our thoughts, and to publish our work—whether it was poems, short stories, or essays. Having people slide into your DMs with feedback, telling you how much they enjoyed your writing, was such an amazing experience. And we are not going to lie, it definitely motivated us to keep writing even more! Beyond that, the Editorial serves as a dedicated platform for those who love to write but haven’t had the opportunity to flaunt their talents. So basically, the Editorial is a canvas that uncovers hidden talents and provides a safe haven to paint your thoughts and emotions, devoid of judgement.

 Alright, let’s dive right in! While we are sure that you already know us by now, we will still take a minute to do the regular formalities here.

 Hey, it’s Janani here! The one who’s all about reading, baking, cooking, and watching cricket. (Just a heads-up: if I’m hooked on a match, everything else tends to fade into the background!) I’m also a bit of a perfectionist and totally obsessed with schedules and plans. (No pressure, right?) In all sincerity, I had no real reason for joining Rotaract, but once I did, I found my groove in the Editorial. It’s been the perfect fit for the introvert in me, giving me a space to indulge in my occasional love for writing. And to reflect upon the job at hand, I’m stoked about this new term as Co-Editor. Like everything else, though, it does come with a challenge, and that challenge is to not get hooked on anime. (Although I know I will not give in, Chamodi has already warned me she will do her best to reel me in!) We’ll see how that turns out by the end of the year!

 Ehem helloo helloo folks, Chamodi here! Yeh it’s me – the one that has taken Janani into custody with the intention of making her watch anime. It’s pretty much the same old things that you know about me already – I love anime, and quite literally smitten with video games, especially Genshin Impact and Honkai StarRail (Love & Deep Space, just you wait for me!) and reading! Thanks to this one anime I’m into Classics these days, which wasn’t, let’s say, my cup of tea back in the day. Also a little bit of an overthinker and the owner of an unhinged collection of WhatsApp stickers. Now, let me be honest. When “that time of the year” came, the only position I applied for was the Editorial- let’s say it’s sort of a ride-or-die relationship that I have with the Editorial, and that was all thanks to the two of the nicest souls I met: the formidable Sajani and Kusali! Ever since I joined Rotaract, I was mentally & emotionally attached to the Editorial, which led me to write more poetry, and these two angels never missed a day to give feedback. I mean what more could you ask for? Now that they have handed over their dear child, which is the Editorial, to Janani and me, we both look forward to a day when we can also look at our impact as the Co-Editors for the RI year 2024/25.

This article would be completely incomplete without mentioning our awesome predecessors—the previous Co-Editors; the amazing Sajani Akki and Kusali Akki. They were two of the easiest and nicest people to work with. Everything was organised down to the finest detail, so we as writers never felt any pressure. They pulled off some seriously cool projects like The Love Gazette and Cinematic Narrative, which easily attracted many writers to spill their thoughts and stories. And if there was any stress, we guess that they soaked it in and never relayed it to us. 

(Janani speaks) Up until recently, I only knew Sajani Akki and Kusali Akki as our Co-Editors who were super easy to work with. It wasn’t until I stepped into the role of Co-Editor myself that I got to know them beyond business.  Turns out, they are truly wonderful people with fantastic advice to offer—especially when it came to picking courses for our second year. I’ll let Chamodi fill you in more about them since she’s had the chance to work closely with them over the past year and knows them even better.

(Chamodi speaks) Oh yes, I still remember the first time I submitted a poem for the Love Gazette on Sibling Love. The feedback I got from Sajani Akki and Kusali Akki was a real spirit booster, which encouraged me to engage in other club activities too. I felt so comfortable interacting with them, and that’s one of the reasons why I (and I’m pretty sure Janani feels the same) always call the Editorial ‘home.’ Once, when I met Sajani Akki at the Greens, I unconsciously took her hands in mine – something I belatedly noticed. I guess it was because of how comfortable I felt in her presence at the moment (please ignore me being too romantic here). I should also mention the time when I co-chaired the project Cinematic Narrative with my dear friend Barani (none other than our current Secretary). The project really did us a favour by making us even more familiar and comfortable with each other. And did I mention Kusali Akki’s love for movies? May it be old or new, she is sure to have watched a large collection! Now you know whom to contact when you need movie recommendations. 

As for our plans this year, we don’t want to spill all the beans just yet—don’t want you thinking we are super boring and lose your support! For now, we’ve got our BookTok project rolling in collaboration with the PR avenue, and we hope you are loving it as much as we are. Although things have been a bit slow on the blog front, now that this article is behind us (what a relief!), we are looking forward to jumping into a new blog series. Stay tuned for updates—it’s coming soon!

On that note, it is time to wrap up our yapping and kick-start the next chapter of the RotaractArts blog. We know the road ahead may have its twists and turns, but we are ready to embrace every moment of it, and we are thrilled to have you along for the ride. Here’s to a new year of sharing our words, our thoughts, and our passions—together. And as always, Welcome Home!

The Co-Editors signing in,

Rtr. Janani Kumarasiri & Rtr. Chamodi Peduruarachchi