by Izaak Garcia
Invest yourself in what you do and enjoy the process along the way.
Giving Voice has been with me for a long time. Almost three years, which for a lot of us, has probably seemed like an entire lifetime. But for me, those years have passed by like no other. When I look back on the very first time I heard about Giving Voice through a good friend of mine I remember thinking, “Fifty bucks for one 500 word article? Sign me up!” To be honest, in the very beginning I was more focused on the money I would be getting for my work rather than the work itself. But that changed very quickly. As I started drafting more articles and submitting them for publication, I became invested in the topics I was writing about. I remember writing one of my first articles on the then-recent discoveries of water on the moon and realizing that I would have to do a good amount of research to educate myself on the topic. I combined that research with my style of writing, and without even knowing, laid out the blueprint that I would use for the rest of my articles.
I wrote about absolutely everything and anything that I found interesting. I wrote about education, nuclear energy, aerospace engineering, cybersecurity, medicine, food, football, chess, e-sports, cinema, social and cultural gatherings, deep sea mining within the Pacific Ocean, theories of extraterrestrial life beyond our galaxy, and a whole lot more. I dabbled in a wide range of topics, not sticking with a common theme or message, and I did that on purpose. This world that we exist and live in evolves over and over and over again, without any stop in sight. Information is constantly expanding, developing, and being erased all at the same time, and it is impossible to keep up.
But I don’t necessarily find that to be depressing or sad, knowing that we can never truly understand everything. In fact, I find this to be the greatest motivation life has to offer, because no matter where we go, or where we end up once our time on Earth has concluded, there will always be something new to discover, experience, make, and write about. I joined this publication wanting to write about the things I felt needed to be written, without binding myself to opinion or ideology. And when I reflect back on all the work that I have done, all 24 articles that I have so diligently written and edited for Giving Voice, the only thing I can do is smile and say, “I enjoyed the time I was given.”
About Izaak Garcia
Izaak Garcia is currently a freshman at the University of Southern California, majoring in Cinema and Media Studies with a minor in Applied Cybersecurity. He has played soccer with FC Peoria, Dunlap, and Richwoods for over a decade combined. Garcia has also played tennis for 4 years, securing a spot on both junior varsity and varsity teams. Along with this, he has competed with the Richwoods Worldwide Youth Science and Engineering team for Biology and English for 2 years and earned multiple awards for the school. Garcia is also heavily involved with the arts. As a multi-instrumentalist, he has played the saxophone for 8 years and piano for 2 years. During his junior year of high school, he was involved in theater at Richwoods as stage crew and manager. He helped with two productions and was being trained to be stage manager for senior year before the COVID-19 pandemic impacted school. Outside of school activities, Garcia is involved in Jack and Jill of America (an organization for young African American men and women to serve the community). He served as his chapter’s treasurer during his freshman year of high school. Along with Jack and Jill of America, he enjoys coding, learning new languages, and playing video games.
Art by Ellie Kraemer
Ellie Kraemer is a sophomore and an animation major at Bradley University who lives and breathes her artwork. Becoming a professional artist and animator has been a goal of hers for many years, as various works of digital art and experience have held a pivotal role in her life. Intrigued by the diverse storytelling prowess of interactive media, she aims to get involved in the productions of visuals for video games and animated series after graduation. You can find more of her work at ekraemer.myportfolio.com.