Last night I returned from a get together with various members of the Wingd team in the mood for reflection. We are currently in the process of developing a book and that is an amazing accomplishment, but that’s not what this post is about, for more information on that you can refer to the Metro or the Ottawa Citizen. This is about my journey with the site and the resounding effect it has had upon my life.  I found the ad to write for Wingd, which used to be called DaveDeansPlace, on craigslist and on a whim I went to meet with Zainab and David, the site’s co-founders.  I met them in a public place, Planet Coffee in the Byward Market for those who are interested, and we talked.  I’m not too sure what we spoke about but I remember their passion, and their belief in their project.  At the time they were only recruiting writers for the site, the book was a dream, but my gut told me that if I overlooked them I would regret it.  I’m glad I listened to my gut.

I’ve been writing for Wingd for almost two years now and sometimes I cannot believe how far we’ve come since the summer of 2014.  Over the years Wingd has helped me to refine my writing style and discover my passion for interviewing!  I love to interview people.  I’m the type of person who, when I put my mind to it, can have a conversation and walk away with your life story. In contrast, you would be lucky to come away with something other than my favourite colour or my cat’s name.  *[Unless of course you want to talk about university and then I will freely talk for hours about the Humanities program at Carleton]. I think what I liked most about Wingd from the beginning was how ‘people focused’ Zainab and David were and I’m happy to say that focus on the human side of journalism and writing has never been lost. The most important stories we tell are still about people – ordinary people you might pass by on the street everyday without a second glance – those are the people we highlight because people are important. It’s the people that make up Wingd that are crucial to our current success and they are an amazing group.

Due to my own busy schedule I do not often find myself able to make it out to team events but when I do I’m always welcomed with open arms.  I regularly find myself engaging in various conversations with witty and wonderful people from all walks of life who have discovered Wingd through different mediums and stayed to work with us because they sense the budding brilliance of the project.  I do not know where we will all be in 2017, by then the book will have been out for around half a year and some of us might have moved on from Ottawa, but I know that regardless of where we are we will all raise a glass to our accomplishments this time next year.  We will celebrate our success as individuals and as a team.  I feel honoured to have started with Wingd when it was very young and I cannot wait to see where the future takes us.  Until then though, I salute all of my fellow team members and encourage them to give themselves hearty pats on the back because we’ve done well.