The Kaleidoscope

There’s a good chance that this article will end up being a bit all over the place, but it’ll all make sense in the end. I believe this would also reflect what the Rotaract year has looked for me; a bit of a kaleidoscope, messy and all over the place, but in its own way, a cohesive pattern that worked out well.

I suppose I ought to start off at the very beginning, my introduction to Rotaract and initial enthusiasm was during the first year when I’d hoped that Rotaract would be an outlet to find likeminded people and hopefully make some friends, despite the constraints of online learning. Ironically however my interest was directed toward an avenue where one would perhaps say I was least likely to meet people face to face, the Editorial. Which incidentally, is the best avenue that the club has to offer, if I do say so myself.

The Editorial at the time, was headed by two very pioneering and persevering individuals who were not only patient but also appreciated our creative input, Rtr. Vibhath Jayasinghe, and Rtr. Janidu Wijeybandara, both of whom I now gladly call my friends. It is their love and enthusiasm towards the Editorial that set the framework upon which the Editorial was built to what it is today. If not for their persistent drive and ability to not only direct, but also encourage aspiring writers to dive into their creative outlets, most of the writers at the Editorial, myself certainly included, would not be here, and for that I express my sincerest appreciation.

Looking back at our journey here at the Editorial, as Shihara quite rightly mentioned previously, our greatest achievement this year was creating more access to readers of all languages by going trilingual with our content. This was partly made possible thanks to our external editors, Lughadarini Yogarajah and Abinaya Sritharan. The Editorial’s other successes for the year include the completion of 4 major projects of varying genres, in addition to publishing monthly updates on the progress of the club through our Month in Review segment, the teams of writers to whom I would like to lend a special thank you.

I know I’ve been a real bug at times, especially when it came to getting updates for Month in Reviews (the title of Sarasi’s article should require no further proof!), and yet I would not be honest if I say I didn’t enjoy being a part of the team. Gethmi, Tharushika and everyone else on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee, perhaps the occasions during which we interacted in person were few, but they are memorable.

While Shihara and I did plan out the roadmap and head the Editorial this year, it would be wrong to say that we did it completely by ourselves. If not for our very talented and very passionate team of writers who gave us their unending support and shared their creativity with us and the rest of the club, we would not be here today, thank you all for sharing your talents with us. In this same vein, I would like to also spend a minute to mention two very special, hardworking and dedicated individuals, Rtr. Sajani Jayasinghe and Rtr. Kusali Rupasinghe. Both of you already have a clear vision and a keen understanding of how you want the Editorial to function in the upcoming year, my only advice to you is to never doubt yourself and go forth in your endeavours fearlessly and with passion. You have all the vision that you need and the ability to deliver and I wish you both the best of luck for the year ahead!

They say that friends who work together, stick together – okay maybe no one says that. The point however is that working with Rtr. Shihara Ferdinando, now and forever known as Ferdi Birdie, has made being part of Rotaract and heading the Editorial something I actually enjoyed and looked forward to. There have been times when things were tense or worrying, times when things got incredibly boring and slow and frustrating; and yet through it all, Shihara would be there putting things into perspective in that incredibly logical way that she does, or coming up with some insane pun that no one would think of. Not to sound absolutely cliché, but I really do believe you were the yin to my yang, or I was the yang to your yin, whichever way that works. I believe myself to be truly lucky to have been able to do something I love with one of my best friends. Although there were undoubtedly times when I may’ve driven you slightly insane, I think we’ve both learnt a from each other, me especially since I’ve learnt to be less tense and panic-stricken. I will forever be in awe of how you juggle a million and one things, knowing the most random facts and all the gossip in the world; all whilst managing to maintain an extremely active social life. And so, I end on a happy note, knowing that I have not only been part of a great team, but that I’ve also had the privilege of working with an incredibly talented, determined, passionate and fearless individual, with the occasional tendency to overthink. ‘Tis the end of an era, (if you get the reference), but here’s to more lunch-dates, where we hopefully don’t have to complain to the waiters about their lack of hygiene, and somehow ticking off that ridiculously long bucket-list of ours.

Thus marks the end of my train of thoughts.

Signing off,

Rtr. Tharini Ratwatte

Co-Editor