My new logo is very special to me on many different levels. Volume III’s new illustrator, Ryan Berry, created it for me and, without knowing it, he incorporated the symbol that has always been near and dear to my heart. A symbol I think reflects my life to a tee.

The dragon seemingly eating its own tail comes from what the Greeks call the Ouroboros [οὐροβόρος ὄφις], which basically means “tail-devouring snake.” Sometimes the Ouroboros is represented as a snake, as in the symbol for medical doctors or the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honors Society logo, other times a dragon.

The Ouroboros symbolizes self-reflexivity or cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly recreating itself, which is perfect for me, as I feel over the last four years that is exactly what I’ve been doing. It also symbolizes “the eternal return” and other things such as the Phoenix, which operate in cycles that begin anew as soon as they end. In my first blog, you can read all about my Phoenix, that which is born again from the ashes of itself.

The Ouroboros can also represent “the idea of primordial unity related to something existing in or persisting from the beginning with such force or qualities it cannot be extinguished.” Whenever I think about myself and the events that have led me to this place, I smile because it is with persistence, fire and strength that I got here. The Ouroboros constantly reminds me, as I hope it will remind all of you, that nothing should bring you so far down that you can’t get back up and fight. We are able to constantly reinvent ourselves, and that is a gift, an ability, we must never forget we have.