Do It Scared: A Note from the Editor

Putting yourself out there feels…

embarrassing.

Like everyone is watching you fumble.

No one talks about how uncomfortable it is to be new at something.

To be the amateur. To try before you feel ready. To create before you feel qualified. 

Most days, I don’t know what comes next. 

Most days, I’m 100% scared to even share. 

Six Magazine began as a love for writing, storytelling, and Public Relations. A love for seeing creatives celebrated and communities lifted. When I graduated from Grand Valley State University, I searched for a magazine I could work for, something that highlighted the people I knew, the artists I admired, the work happening quietly behind the scenes.

And I couldn’t find one.

So I decided to create it.

Some laughed at the idea that a college grad could start a magazine.

That’s fine. I kept going.

I write, I edit, I design, I ask for help, I learn as I go. I stay up late figuring out what's next, and craft meaningful ways to tell stories that matter. I send emails I’m nervous about. I call artists I admire. I make mistakes, and I figure out how to fix them.

It’s messy. It’s exciting. It’s everything I didn’t know I was ready for, but I’m showing up anyway. Some days I doubt myself completely. Some days I wonder if there is any significance in what I feel called to produce.

Here’s the wild part: I have validation. People are excited. They’re saying yes. They’re reading, engaging, responding.

SIX MAGAZINE is necessary. That part feels amazing. That part is real.

And yet… it’s still scary.

Maybe this idea is too big to carry out. What if people don't understand the assignment?

But here’s what I learned: calling doesn’t come with a permission slip.

If I waited to feel ready, Six Magazine would still be an idea written in a notebook. Instead, I am choosing to do the work. Faithfully. Even when no one was watching. Even when it felt like I was building in the dark.

Dreams don’t always arrive with affirmation.

You don’t have to wait to be chosen. You don’t need permission to create what’s been placed inside of you.

If you’re unsure, you’re still allowed to begin.

Build anyway.

Show up anyway.

Do it scared.

One day, you’ll look back and realize the quiet work was the sacred part all along.

And before I end this note, I want to honor the Six Magazine team.

Mary, Sarina, you are the ones who have caught the vision while it is still fragile. The ones who said yes without needing all the answers. The ones building alongside me with open hearts, and unshakeable faith that this work is bigger than any one of us.

Thank you for believing.

Thank you for showing up. Thank you for choosing to build alongside me.

— Editor-in-Chief, Six Magazine