Visibly
Invisible

Growing up, I was not like other children. I never knew how to answer the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Whatever arbitrary answer I gave lacked passion and sincerity. I had the entire world before me. Maybe that was precisely the problem: too many options but nothing that interested me.

​

Then, in 2011, when my Harry Potter obsession had reached a fever pitch with the final film in the franchise set to release, I came across a movie called Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story. There is a character in the movie who works at The Christopher Little Literary Agency, and part of her job was to read the manuscripts submitted to the agency. I decided then my dream job would be getting paid to read books all day long.

​

I had nailed down the passion, but 16-year-old Laura did not fully appreciate the impractically and difficulty of fullfilling this dream. I needed to refine my aptitude for grammar and strengthen my writing skills, so when I went back to school after trying a different career path, I majored in media and communication with a concentration in journalism.

​

During my time at East Tennessee State University, I had the privilege of creating, co-editing and producing Overlooked in Appalachia, an online magazine recognized in the 2019 Tennessee Associated Press Broadcasters & Media Editors College Contest.

​

It was also while I was receiving my training I realized an editor's true purpose is to remain invisible. We take the stories authors have written with care and polish them until they shine. We make them visible.