In six days, YLW Connection will distribute the print version of its 2015 Spring issue. It’s already online (accessible here). Over the next week, travellers that transition through Kelowna’s airport, patients that glance away from their phones at doctors’ offices, and locals that are curious what’s going on in the Okanagan will pick up a glossy, 32-page copy, that contains my own words adorning page 16.

I don’t know how many people will read it, or how many people will like it. My one-page spread is a reflection on my time in Beijing, China, one snowy April a few years back. Writing for a travel magazine has long been my dream. Now that I’m here, finally, on the first step, with my first article about to hit newsstands across the city, my body is buzzing with a mix of excitement and nervousness.

I think it’s impossible to ever be completely satisfied with your work—otherwise, we would just stop producing. I would edit my work until the cows came home (I live a 12 hour drive away, so that would take awhile) if I was given the chance.

Deadlines keep me on task. I’m bashful to admit that I do really like this piece. It was edited from its original state, as all published pieces must be, but it still has my voice wrapped around the edges. I’m in love with the world. I’m dying of curiosity. I want to write about everything my eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin absorbs.

I want to keep writing for YLW Connection.

But that’s up to you.

If you’ve already read my piece, thank you. I hope it meant something to you. I hope it made sense. If you liked it, please offer feedback. Positive feedback will keep me writing for this magazine. And if I keep writing for this magazine…

There’s no telling where it might take me.