When you were in elementary school, you most likely recall hearing the phrase, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” If you were anything like me, your answer probably consisted of “princess” or “vet.” As I got older my aspirations grew, and I settled in my mind that I would be the first woman president. In most cases we never actually become what seven-year-old us sets out to be. With wide eyes and open hearts, children have such a special outlook of the future. It is innocent and unscathed. No one can convince them that their future won’t be everything they want it to be. I am in my twenties, and with childlike faith, I’m still trying to figure out what I am supposed to do, but I know the journey is all part of it.

I have come a long way from being seven. I have tried a few things and failed a few times, but I have never given up completely. Not many things have gone the way I would have pictured them when I was a kid, and that is okay. I will let you in on a secret though; it’s actually better than I could have planned because I kept my trust in God. One thing I know is He called me to write. There is just something about taking a blank and empty page and filling it with life. I also love to help people; that is something I hope will never change.

I have been writing here for almost ten years, and I have grown so much from it. I continued to be part of the team even after I had my bachelor’s degree in hand because somehow I knew this would always be part of me, no matter what capacity. I have walked alongside some of the most talented people in our organization and have made life long friends.God has given me the opportunity to both write and help people through this and other avenues.

Now, as of 2019, I have happily stepped into a brand new role of editor of InsideOut Magazine. I have those same seven-year-old me dreams and aspirations for the future. With that same anticipation I look forward to what is to come, and I devote myself to believing it will be better than I could plan.

As optimistic as I am, I know this will never be something I can do on my own. We have a dynamic team that will make this machine run. If you feel like God has called you to write, please reach out to us. You never know what that first step will lead you to. I am ready to serve and to help people in this new and exciting way for as long as the Lord wants me to do this. The pages are currently blank in this chapter, but together we will fill them, and together we will look forward to the future.

In this new season of both of our lives, I can only hope to be half as good as the shoes I’m filling. LJ Harry has devoted years to this ministry. He believes in young people and where we as a movement are heading. As he continues to run the race set before him, I will carry the baton he is passing on to me and hope to serve him and his legacy well. He is one of the most kind-hearted, people-loving individuals you will ever meet, and I am so ecstatic about what God is doing in his life and in his precious family. If you ever get a chance to meet him, you will understand there is nobody quite like him.

I am so thrilled about the changes and growth that are yet to come for this website and the UPCI Youth Ministries as a whole. Stay tuned; the best is yet to come. I close with the words of the man who brought us to this point, LJ Harry: “From now until Jesus comes, let’s live up to our name. Let’s live InsideOut.”