Breathe.
Just close your eyes and breathe.
The first full week of school has finally come to end. And we made it.
This is how I feel at the beginning of each new semester. The packed course list starts me hyperventilating as I prepare myself for the new routine. Each professor muddles through introductions and their syllabi promise a semester survived on copious amounts of caffeine, Ibuprofen and hard work.
And I love it... for some reason.
If you haven't met me yet this week (see Monday's "Outside the Lines"), I am Mackenzie and I will be the Editor in Chief of SPM this year. I am in my last year at ASU and am hoping to graduate in spring with a degree in journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
It is my last year, and I still experience a veritable roller coaster of emotion during the first week of school. There are the valleys of un-motivation laced with senioritis. There are highs of excitement brought on by passionate professors whose humorous cell phone policies should really be made public. And then there are the mid-levels that combine electric uncertainty and agonizing fear. What if I can't handle it? What if I mess up?
That's when I remember to breathe.
And then I crack some joke about premeditated procrastination because I am basically a female version of Chandler from "Friends" — humor is my defense mechanism.
With every new start, whether it is a total life change or just a new semester, there will always be nerves. The trick is to find something that makes the nerves worthwhile. For me, that is my work at State Press Magazine. Although I am worried about the new semester, I am extremely excited about all we will be doing here. 
Our cozy staff of writers, photographers and videographers are extremely talented and motivated to create. They are currently working tirelessly for our first print issue, which will be on stands in September. And as we prepare this project both nerves and creative energy are in the air.
While writers will still write the occasional satirical opinion and helpful-tip list, we still maintain our love of telling stories of people and happenings within ASU. We will cover students, faculty and the community. We will cover research, politics and culture. We will cover the feel-good stories as well as the controversial stories. You should definitely be following SPM this year.
Likewise, check back with this column. We hope to continue the tradition set forth by my predecessor, Newlin Tillotson, with her editor's blog: "Newlin's 3 a.m. Diary." Each week there will be a new pseudo-"Letter from the Editor" offering a peek behind the scenes of SPM. Assistant Editor Marie Rabusa and Multimedia Editor Luu Nguyen will also lend their voices to offer their own reflections on their respective areas of the magazine.
The SPM staff has a lot in front of it this semester, just as we all do in school and in life. But a positive attitude, a little bit of fear and a good sense of humor will get us through it.
Just remember to breathe.
Reach the writer at mamccrea@asu.edu or via Twitter @mmccreary6.
Follow SPM on Facebook, Tumblr and Pinterest, or via Twitter and Instagram @StatePressMag.
