Letter from the editor

My earliest memories of California scenery are from road trips to inland deserts. I remember pulling cactus spines from my uncle’s leg in a sweaty cap, pores clogged with sunscreen, parched by dry heat and “quenched” with warm water from plastic bottles. In college, my drives up and down the 101 were really about efficiency and making sure I didn’t veer off into oncoming traffic. The only visual impressions I got from those long hours on the road were miles of the same orchard kaleidoscopes interrupted by fields of grazing cows. California was obvious to me.

I have been spoiled. It’s easy to overlook the things that separate our state from the rest. A quick internet search tells me everything I need to inflate my ego. California is only the nation’s third largest state by land area, but within its borders are the highest and lowest points of elevation in the continental United States. Here, mere miles separate dry deserts from forested mountains and coastal horizons. And though we’re a long way from America’s breadbasket, California produces more agriculture than any other state in the country. We need that agriculture to feed our 39 million people, the highest population of any state, surpassing second place Texas by a cool 10 million. That same population happens to be the most diverse in the U.S., having more Latino than white residents, and having the highest Asian population by a margin of over 5 million. 

Flip through this magazine — get to know this state that all of us at UC Berkeley call home for at least our time in college. These pages represent an honest effort from 25 of us to chisel away at this place we thought we knew until we looked closer.

Last semester, I thought I was writing my last Letter from the Editor. I’m glad I was wrong. I needed one last chance to say my proper goodbyes. 

Four years ago, Caravan was nothing more than a nagging thought in my head — a fun “what-if” to keep my daydreams active. Since its inception, I have had my highs, I have had my lows, I have been burned out and on the brink of giving up. I do not regret one second of it. I love this magazine, this club, this group of people, with all of myself. I hope that in five years, I can flip through the Tokyo Issue. And that in 55 years, my grandkids can enjoy the Saturn Issue. And that for however long Caravan exists, it will always be a warm space for creatives to share openly and support each other.

Safe Travels,

David Chen

Editor-in-Chief