Loss is a heavy thing. It can feel isolating and confusing at the best of times and is often a journey we take alone. Blossom was created through this pain. It was a project I poured all my time into after the loss of a best friend. This magazine was a creative way for me to distract myself and pretend I wasn’t having nightmares every night, or crying on the phone to friends every day. It was a way for me to stay connected when I felt so lost. It gave me community and perspective and made me treasure the friendships I still have in my life. The people who helped launch Blossom gave me happiness and hope, something that can be so hard to find when grieving. I hope this October, our stories about loss give you that same sense of community. We’re all trying to navigate these hard feelings, but at the very least, we can navigate them together.
Confession time: I believe in ghosts. Not ironically, or in an X-Files “I want to believe” sort of way. I think that ghosts are real, full stop. I’ve seen one (seriously!!) and I like knowing that they’re out there, floating around among us. There’s something weirdly comforting in the idea that even after you’re gone, a part of you can still linger, keeping your memory alive - or just popping up in the bathroom mirror to scare whoever was unlucky enough to move into the house after your death, Beetlejuice-style.
So in the spirit of Halloween, we’re bringing our own ghosts to Blossom. The things we’ve lost that still haunt us. The intent isn’t to exorcise, but to honor these memories because they’re not going away any time soon. I hope that this month, we can all find comfort in sharing the stories of our losses while still looking ahead to the future, and finding hope in what’s yet to come.
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