From the editor

Cody Luk, editor in chief / photo by Helen Arase

I’ve always been a curious person who is obsessed with knowing stories and having knowledge on really anything—from practical information to meaningless trivia. When I was younger, I would read almanacs page by page, from the cover to the back. For example, I learned that male foxes are called dogs, and marine clams are the longest lived animals. There were many things I found to be valuable to know, but other things, not so much. However, I was still fascinated by the facts I discovered. Growing up, in a true millennial fashion, I began embarking on aimless browsing sessions on the Internet, and I moved on to Wikipedia. The “random article” button was my friend, and I could care less about the trivia subject. Whether it was about the most popular official state insect (European honeybee) or the world’s smallest mammal (Kitti’s hog-nosed bat at about 1.1 inch), it did not matter. Needless to say, watching game shows such as “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” and “Jeopardy!” were also on my list of favorite pastimes.

My curiosity eventually shaped into a love and obsession with stories. Names may easily be mistaken, faces may become blurry over time, but people are not easily forgotten if you take the time to learn their stories. Everyone has his or her own, and it is up to us if we want to share and to listen—we are all curators of our own brand. The name Ray Tomlinson may not bring familiarity to many people, but if someone mentions the inventor of the @ symbol, then it all becomes clear.

As we transitioned through our adolescent years into our early adult selves, we were constantly placed in environments where many temporary bonds were formed. Out of convenience, spontaneity and perhaps loneliness, we made friends easily. Some were meant to last for the semester, and that is all right. But real relationships are built by understanding one another and telling stories—of your passions, your dreams and your fears. These are the people we will remember decades later, and these people become parts of our stories as well.

Your net worth in this world is as much as your story. How much of your successes you want to display and how much of your failures you want to reveal are decisions you can make. If you tell people the things you are proud of, chances are, you can become an inspiration to someone else. Even if you helped just one person, you have done the job.

In order to become more tolerant of others, it is important to learn more about the world and the people, places and happenings around you. This is what this magazine and the stories are about. We hope we serve as your almanac to La Verne life—the past that leads to today, and the current events going on in the community. We hope we pique your curiosity.