I have been dreading writing this letter for so long because I do not want to say goodbye. After my first meeting with Her Campus in 2017, I knew this club was where I wanted to be. I tried joining other writing clubs, but this was my favorite! Not only did I get opportunities to write as much as I want or to pick what I want, I got to empower women through social media and share my voice.
Her Campus was such an influence for me in college. I got to be a part of its executive board: social media management for three years! I have learned so much on time commitment, planning and strategizing, and coming up with all variations of content. I built a part of the chapter’s Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Tik-Tok! In addition, it was incredibly convenient to photograph club events and share it immediately on the platform. I learned how to edit everything pink (I am not overexaggerating).
Even though COVID-19 caused club meetings to become virtual in my last year at HC, I got to write articles with various partnerships. I got to meet with my friend, Nooria, in the city once or twice on the phone, who had an internship with Amazon at the time. I wrote a few documentary and movie articles, thanks to her position’s permission.
“All In: Fight for Democracy”
https://www.hercampus.com/school/winona/analyzing-documentary-all-fight-democracy
“The Lie”
https://www.hercampus.com/school/winona/featured-flick-review-blumhouse-s-lie
Besides my partnership with Amazon, I was incredibly lucky to have Mary Marolla from Abrams Publishing reach out to me after my review of Nicole Kronzer’s, Unscripted, to review multiple books soon-to-be available for purchase. It feels pretty cool to have an “unpublished” version of a book before anyone else does.
Unscripted Review
https://www.hercampus.com/school/winona/my-thoughts-unscripted-book-written-my-high-school-teacher
Heiress Apparently Review
https://www.hercampus.com/school/winona/book-review-pushing-gender-binaries-novel-heiress-apparently
The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss Review
https://www.hercampus.com/school/winona/quantum-weirdness-first-novel-i-read-2021
The Follower Review
https://www.hercampus.com/school/winona/after-all-i-ve-been-following-you-book-review-follower
My heart breaks that this is my final article. Closing it all together, I thought I would share some of my all-time favorite articles, the ones that mean a lot to me, or what I thought were thought-provoking to write:
1. Crooked
https://www.hercampus.com/school/winona/crooked
My very first article on Her Campus was my personal story on scoliosis. I wrote what it was and why it affected my life while growing up. This story has grown so much since then, and I just finished a dance film all about overcoming my challenges from it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgKMeaj1nyE
2. Trusting the Process
https://www.hercampus.com/school/winona/trusting-process
I wrote this article on hardships after experiencing insecurities in my first-year of college. I think it’s important for me to reflect on these life lessons. Losing oneself is so easy to do, and I feel like I am at my best when I am present, enjoying today and looking forward to my future. I am still taking it in every day and learning it, a process.
3. It’s Your Life, Go Get it if You Want It
https://www.hercampus.com/school/winona/its-your-life-go-get-it-if-you-want-it
After dancing at RADIX in the cities, I had to write this article. This trip was one of my favorite memories in college. I stayed in Minneapolis with a friend for the weekend and woke up every morning to take the bus to classes, including one with my favorite choreographer I’ve always wanted to meet! Not only was it a learning experience in dance, but I learned a lot about independence during this trip.
4. How to Spend Your Nineteenth Valentine’s Day Single
https://www.hercampus.com/school/winona/how-spend-your-nineteenth-valentine-s-day-single
I wanted to spread some love on Valentine’s Day, but to those, especially, who were single. I think many people hate Valentine’s Day because it is known to be meant for couples, however, that is not the case. I had been single on Valentine’s Day for 19 years, and for me, Valentine’s Day was never bad or great, but neutral. That’s how it should be, and why not even better?
5. The Inside Poem
https://www.hercampus.com/school/winona/inside-original-poem-inspired-play-trifles
Originally, I wrote this poem after a break-up, and looking back it still means a lot to me. The poem states my opinion on love in my generation. It contains details I have experienced that resonated with my opinion.
6. House of Horrors: How I Handled My Spooky Living Situation
https://www.hercampus.com/school/winona/house-horrors-how-i-handled-my-spooky-living-situation
Truthfully, this article caused a lot of controversy in my life. I was careful while writing the piece, and I became proud of its outcome. I asked a professor for help on its writing to ensure anonymity. It was a fun theme of “horror,” suiting its time of publishing near Halloween.
7. And You’re Probably with that Blonde Girl: My Depiction of Driver’s License
https://www.hercampus.com/school/winona/and-you-re-probably-blonde-girl-my-depiction-drivers-license
I took time to sit down on this article. I enjoyed writing it because the song itself was a popular topic, but I also truly realized how thought-provoking it was when I connected it to Tik-Tok. The app is changing what music everyone listens to, and since I’ve written this article, I like seeing how much that statement has grown to be true. I listen to artists now that I have found on Tik-Tok with random singles.
While these articles have been my favorite ones to write, I have so many more articles throughout the years, including my series, Picture This or The List! I hope that after I graduate, I continue to write, or blog in some sort of way. I had a couple of ideas like creating a book-club, writing a blog, or blogging through my business.
I am so grateful for these past four years with Her Campus. I loved being a part of something so much bigger than words to empower women and to share my voice. I need to find something like it again. I will miss it.
Love, Natalie.