I can hardly believe it, but it’s already been one year since my first article went live. It’s a feeling I’ll never forget, and I still get that little burst of excitement when I visit the website and see my name in the byline. My first story was about how saving two lives over the summer as a lifeguard put my own life into perspective; this thirty-first article is how my life has changed in the last 365 days of writing, revising, and sharing my stories with all of you.
And what better way is there to look at and revisit some memories than by going through the calendar, month by month, to reminisce on what has been a time filled with such growth, both as a person and a writer.
SEPTEMBER (2017): Like I just mentioned, my debut article in Her Campus was about my experience rescuing two lives (in one day) as a lifeguard. As if the fact that I’m now a published writer wasn’t great enough, it was also surreal to find out that I had been named the “Queen of Hits” with the most clicks to this story in the fall semester. I’d like to thank all those readers I personally know who are so supportive, as well as all the newfound fans I acquired after my debut piece, because without you, that definitely would not have been possible.
OCTOBER: James Corden is such a funny guy and I love his carpool karaoke, so I wrote a segment on different singers I wish would be featured in the “hot seat” which also doubles as the passenger seat of his car. A week later, I wrote about my anticipation for certain shows and movies that were scheduled to hit the queues of Netflix throughout the month, because what is college without a few strategically placed Netflix binges in the middle of studying for midterms? Next, I channeled my love of festive confections with “Halloween Candy Ranked from Squeals of Horror to Happiness,” where I gave each spooky sweet a 0 to 10 Jack-o-Lanterns rating. It got a little more somber after I examined the death of Tom Petty and juxtaposed it with our nationalism during tragedies and widespread acts of violence, quoting one of Petty’s popular songs, “I Won’t Back Down”. To me, that was a standout piece from first semester. It demonstrated my newfound range as a writer, and I still go back to read it when I have the chance to remind myself of different topics I am able to touch upon with my own, unique voice.
NOVEMBER: I got to thinking about my ink (my first tattoo, in specific) and wrote a touching tribute to the sport of swimming and how much it has given me over the years. After getting all mushy-gushy about my long-time love of H20, I segued into another love of mine: the TV show Gilmore Girls. Whether it’s sitting in Luke’s Diner or at Miss Patty’s Dance Studio, the ladies of Stars Hollow are full of life lessons (and caffeine). Following those two articles full of fuzzy feelings, however, was one that was full of mortification. Look, I’ll admit, it’s funny now that I dropped my ID in the dumpster and went clamoring after it (I had a good chuckle reading it back in preparation for this story), but I still white knuckle my lanyard whenever a dumpster is nearby. I learned an embarrassing, embarrassing lesson and brought you along for the ride. I will attribute the inspiration for this next article to my dad because when he doesn’t want the inevitability of a bad party or event to ruin his day, he’s known to say, “I’m too well to attend,” so of course I covered National Stay Home Because You’re Well Day. After that, I captured a snapshot of two very talented photographers, Debra Medin and Brooke Powell, in “Ladies Behind the Lens.” It was one of my favorite stories to write, and it was my first profile! Debra and Brooke were so great to interview, and their answers were so insightful and charming.
DECEMBER: To get in the holiday spirit, I wrote about my family Christmases but took a twist and structured it as a recipe (pretty clever if I do say so myself). Then it was time for a much needed writing break!
JANUARY: At the dawn of 2018, I wrote a reflection piece on my 2017. Following that, I gave Zoe a sweet little letter as she began her last semester as a high school senior. It made a few tear up, myself included. Another article was a listicle I wrote from A-Z about all the potential dorm room essentials (it wasn’t a favorite of mine, but there’s always room for improvement).
FEBRUARY: I started February off with a female-forward look at some of the many empowering speeches, poems and messages delivered throughout the 2018 Women’s March on International Women’s Day. After that, I found love swirling in the air and decided that because rom-coms and Valentine’s Day go hand-in-hand together, I could combine the two and assess if those popular chick flicks deserved their Rotten Tomatoes score. I also then rescored them based on the “popcorn bucket,” which are movies that fans gave 3.5 stars or higher. I ended the month with a quick little piece about taking time to live in the moment, like a Polaroid picture. Polaroids, much like life, are never perfect, but I challenged everyone to spend more time relishing the in-between moments rather than searching for the perfection in the big picture.
MARCH: It’s officially GIRL SCOUT COOKIE SEASON! Heck yeah, baby! I ranked all the cookies from worst to best. Then, I looked at my reverse bucket list for ten things in my life I’m so glad that I have done. Next, I wrote about the misfortune that follows me when I decide to ride public transportation and spun the story around to look at how the radio stations my family choose in car rides to and from school affect the journey. I am so lucky that they’re patient enough to put up with the car trips, because otherwise I might be stuck forever. In a rather ambitious week where I wrote two articles, the first one consisted of exploring challenges I faced while growing apart from a friend. The overall message of “Cultivating Change: Blooms of a Better Tomorrow” was that it’s okay to bloom where you are planted and not be constantly worried if friends happen to grow in different directions. And almost as exciting as Girl Scout cookies is MARCH MADNESS! 2018 was the 39th year of the tournament, so I found 39 different facts that people may not have known before the tourney began.
APRIL: Picking classes, for me at least, is pretty stressful; but when you have Rory and Lorelai Gilmore in GIF form to show they too can relate, it makes everything a little bit better. Next, my Her Campus partner in crime, Hailey, and I wrote a joint article about National Poetry Month and our penchant for prose. My article about surprising Zoe for her senior prom is so sweet, and I definitely read it back after a bad day. After that, I looked at trailers for movies hitting the “silver screen” in the spring that I was looking forward to seeing (I saw four of them over the summer)! And perhaps my favorite article of the spring semester was the one I dedicated to my newfound and lifelong friends. I wrote a little blurb about how thankful I am for all of them in their different ways and how I discovered a lot about myself without a roommate in my freshman year.
MAY: For Teacher Appreciation Week, I looked at some of my favorite teachers and properly thanked them for so much knowledge and guidance.
JUNE: Well, what am I gonna do without my scheduled article a week? Guess I’ll just formulate ideas and get some brainstorming done!
JULY: Man, I miss my weekly editing sessions with the girls. BUT, I did have a little piece of my Her Campus heart come visit my hometown and maybe even provide me with some article inspo (you can check out Hailey’s body of work here).
AUGUST: Alright, I’m itching to get back to writing on the reg.
SEPTEMBER (2018): My first article was about one of my prized possessions and all its add ons—my jean jacket! And who can resist in indulging in a little Kardashian guilty pleasure sometimes? I know I couldn’t, so my second article focused around different facets of life that people can aspire to “Keep Up” with the Kardashians in. My third article was about one of the best nights of my life, Taylor Swift’s reputation tour. I developed a new concept for an article series called “Hannah-LYZE This,” and I’m super pumped.
As of right now this article hasn’t really reflected on much except the contents of my portfolio; now I want to reflect on the people that helped me reach this point.
To Kasey and Emily, our fearless HC Campus Correspondents, and the rest of the staff, Cassie, Linsey, and Alex, thank you for wrangling me into this wonderful group, making me feel so welcome, and for choosing me to be this year’s editor-in chief. On that same note, thank you to Cassie for giving me such a great example of how incredible it is to be in charge of polishing this chapter’s stories and how important it is to be the editor-in-chief. To the rest of the Her Campus staff that stayed on from last year, you continue to inspire me and fill my heart with so many ideas. I love you all. To all my friends and family, thank you for liking, sharing, and spreading such beautiful words of encouragement to me (because in my opinion, those things are better than what I write). I cannot believe how fast these 365 days went and I sincerely cannot wait to see where the next 365 take me!
HCXO,
Hannah
Sources
Photo 3: Lindsay Oien Creations