By TAMARA STYER
I never did fit inside those lines. I was always that eccentric type that stood out. I always wanted to go against the flow, to just be me. I’ve been a writer since I can remember, always producing tales that made people crawl in their skin (and secretly wonder about my mental health.)
It wasn’t until I found journalism in high school that I was able to apply my natural abilities to good use. I never believed in general education. I didn’t understand why I wasn’t funneled into some amazing English realm where I was able to explore the art of written prose. I didn’t see the reason behind sitting at a desk next to the math genius, when neither he nor I understood each other or why the other excelled in areas that we personally lacked.
Why wasn’t there a more fine-tuned education program?
Journalism was where I found that outlet. The program, lead by Sharon Meyer, singlehandedly lead me to where I am today—the owner, publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of Deitra, a magazine that focuses on independent music, art culture, and fashion.
I would have never found that channel for my creative outbursts if not for the underfunded, oft-overlooked journalism program at my hometown high school. Among the many things the program taught me, it formed the deeply ingrained idea inside me that if you want to do something with your life, you have everything you need to start it yourself. It takes a dream and the ability to think outside the box. Not to mention a ton of hard work, long unpaid hours, and attention to detail nearing on obsession, all of it completely worth the insomnia and laryngitis, in my personal opinion.
Thus began a spark in my young mind. You want to write for a magazine? Make your own.
But how do I go about doing that? I read once that it would take upward of $100,000 for me to start my own magazine.
Then I found Tavi Gevinson. At the time, she was 11 years old and running her own blog. Blog, you say? My resistance to the blog world was deeply ingrained. I refused to troll the growing number of self-published writings on scrapbooking and do-it-yourself home remedies. But this was different. Little miss Gevinson started taking photos of herself and her friends posing in fashions she found in her mother’s attic. She wrote plainly and personally, never hesitating to express her precise personality. It wasn’t long before Tavi was invited to Fashion Week in New York, and had her first offer to be a columnist for a cult favorite fashion magazine.
Perhaps I could try this whole blog thing. I had wanted to start my own magazine for about 10 years, a passion that spurred on from my education in journalism. Newspapers weren’t cutting it for me. I wanted something more creative. I wanted something that was my own.
I’ve always believed in hands-on education that is based on a person’s talents and affinities, rather than trying to push out a bunch of cookie cutter versions of what society deems “educated.” Journalism was that for me. I learned how to organize content, get funding, set deadlines, manage a staff, and many more skills that have proven useful in the real world. But more importantly, I learned how to apply what I was good at in the real world.
Journalism gave me the passion and drive to know that I could do it on my own, and start something from the ground up.
Following in the footsteps of an 11-year-old girl, I started my blog, focusing on local musicians in the Ozark region and neighboring cities in Arkansas and Missouri. A year later, I wound up in Springfield, Missouri, launching the first print issue of Deitra Magazine.
That hands-on approach became the premise for Deitra. When people told me they wanted to be a photographer, I encourages them to go out and buy a camera. They wanted to be a music writer? I gave them the avenue to do that. Soon I had several talented photographers and writers contributing to Deitra. Now, we are doing more than just publishing a magazine. We are organizing fashion runway shows, promoting local entertainment and artists, while spurring on the local economy.
After an amazing four years and eight issues of Deitra, we are gearing up for our Summer 2014 Issue Release Party, to be held in Springfield. We are also launching our redesigned website, deitramag.com, which will feature more talented and artistic people than ever, from the content in the magazine to the crew who puts it all together.
I have always dreamed big. But along the path of achieving my dreams, I learned that it’s always best to color outside the lines. M! August/September 2014
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