“When we learn how to become resilient, we learn how to embrace the beautifully broad spectrum of the human experience.”
― Jaeda Dewalt

For the past two years, the world has experienced a drastic cultural shift. We’ve modified the way we work together, talk to each other, and engage in day-to-day activities due, in large part, to the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve endured tremendous loss, and we’ve learned to cope with adverse life experiences. We’ve learned that developing resilience isn’t easy, but it is essential; to be resilient means to adapt to and recover from difficult situations.

The 2022 edition of Curios embodies this theme of resilience through expressions of inner strength, perseverance, and recovery. The intent is to connect us through shared human experiences and to demonstrate the power of change and the opportunity it provides to learn and grow.

In this edition, we explore resilience as an indispensable trait. Exemplified in images of white-gypsum sand dunes and geologic formations, we reveal the product and evolution of change—the resiliency of nature. Personal stories and poems contained herein explore loss and unpredicted hardship and unravel the many ways in which humans adapt to change and uncover their strength and endurance for survival.