Editors’ Note - Issue IV

Alayna Chen | Helen Hoang

Dear readers,

In the heat of midsummer, our editorial team invites you to explore the return of the Lighthouse Literary Magazine in Issue IV. Here, find stories and poems of fear and hope, of pain and wonder. As a collection of works from the Amador Valley and Foothill high schools, the Lighthouse illuminates the insight, talent, and creativity of Pleasanton’s students.

We are living in times of change, of unrest. Yet it is in our nature to continue to seek light and find comfort in what we see. On the editorial staff, we choose to find it in art and writing, believing in their power to reflect the many facets of the world around us. In selecting works for this issue, we decided to follow the true mission of a lighthouse: to spotlight the unexpected and reveal the twists and turns of life.

The writers of this issue beckon you on a transformative journey. We begin with Jessica Bakar’s “Calling,” a winding exploration through sound and the body and end with the comfort of home and nostalgia wrapped up in J. H.'s “ode to an oregon summer.” Abhishri Narayan’s “The Wave” begs for a release from harsh demand and pressure as R. A. P.’s “Reality” inclines that, amidst such situations, strength is found in beauty. 

Our artists found themselves traveling along another path—this one through time. Slipping back to the past, Isabella Burns’s “Hyacinth” sinks into the tragedy of Apollo and Hyacinthus. Samantha St. Clair’s “Head in the Clouds” finds us in the present imagining tomorrow while Ryan Nguyen’s “My World” pulls us into a future powered by our dreams. 

Come adventure through this celebration of artistry and insight. May the lighthouse guide your way. Enter Issue IV.