If you ever need someone to keep it real with you, find yourself an Emily Bauer. I’m not saying literally stalk Emily on the quad and make her be your friend, but if you ever need someone to tell you the truth, while simultaneously laughing your booty off, find yourself an Emily. From her fashion style, to iconic bangs and beautiful way with words, I couldn’t imagine anyone else to walk through life with. So, meet my best friend and most inspirational lady in life. Thanks for taking the time to talk with Her Campus, Emily!
Name: Emily Bauer
Year in School: Sophomore
Major: Secondary English Education
Hometown: Oswego, IL
Her Campus: Who is your biggest inspiration? Why?
Emily: Though I feel inclined to say my mom or Michelle Obama, I have to say Aurora Leigh; a character created by Victorian writer Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Being raised in England, she resists the traditional, pitiful, and unequal teaching given to women in that era, and rather indulges in educating herself with her father’s library. She has the ambition of becoming a poet; a job society deemed unfit for a woman due to the belief that women are not worth of attaining an education. Aurora believes that the art of writing should represent the age that we are in, and that it should be alive for future generations. I guess I aspire to represent that ideal.
HC: What are your hobbies?
EB: Writing (poetry, short fiction, creative non-fiction), being a coffee snob, watching aesthetically pleasing wedding videos, reading literature that makes me question my existence, Facetiming my dogs, and baking the best homemade chocolate chip cookies to avoid all of my responsibilities.
HC: On Fridays, (if) you had no classes, where are we likely to find you?
EB: Well, since I do not have Friday classes, I can easily be found at Coffeehound at any time in the morning. I like to tell people that I get there early, but if I am being real with you, it’s usually around 10am that I attempt to dive into my weekend homework, waste money on really good coffee, run into almost everybody that I know, and just take some time to myself. Alone time is my favorite time due to being an introvert. That is usually when I get the chance to breathe and fill up my tank. The caffeine helps with that, too. Fridays are my day to myself.
HC: What kind of music do you listen to?
EB: I have been told that my Spotify is “the best thing to ever exist,” so the easy answer is simply really good music. If we’re talking genres, definitely anything that falls under the indie, alternative, folk, or acoustic categories. I recently have accumulated a deep love and respect for rap. Kendrick Lamar and Chance the Rapper have really been hitting the spot lately. I used to say that I didn’t like country music, but you can definitely find me jamming to it on a good day. Classical piano and strings is great especially when I am writing. I also have a playlist on Spotify called, “Early 2000s Rom-Com” that I jam hard to. My music taste is messy and I love it.
HC: What made you want to become a teacher?
EB: I knew that I wanted to teach when I realized the privilege and delight of getting an education. The idea of getting to learn new things every day excites me, and I know that I never want to reach a point in my life where I am done learning. Knowledge is power. Teachers are doing this lifelong, and helping the future of our world gain knowledge as well. At first, I wanted to teach elementary school. That changed when I realized that kids are cute, but ultimately tiny germ sacks. When I got into high school, I fell in love with the content: Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, Henry V by Shakespeare, and my all time favorite, A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway. A very good friend of mine also gave me my first journal during high school, and his gift is what made me realize I wanted to write. High school students are the ideal age because of what you are teaching them; but also because you can treat them like adults while still having too much fun. I found out who I was through my high school English classes, and I hope I can cultivate a classroom where that happens for students of my own.
HC: What is something about you that makes you unique?
EB: This is hard. I have 8 siblings, so I guess that makes me unique. Oh, and I have bangs. That’s always a go-to answer.
HC: How would you describe your wardrobe?
EB: I love fashion, especially when a person’s style emulates exactly who they are. I definitely feel like my wardrobe does this for me, because my friends will point at things when we shop and say, “That is such an Emily outfit.” I’m all about cuffed jeans, layering with a cardigan, and embroidered hats. I will try just about anything with fashion, as long as I can put lipstick with it. I try to be bold with my wardrobe, that is for sure. My true love are my Chacos, though. I’m a summer camp counselor, I can’t help it.
HC: If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be and why?
EB: Austria: there’s infinite writing inspiration, gelato for days, and is the most breathtaking country I’ve had the privilege of visiting. It is also far, far away from here.
HC: How do you and your friends spend your free time?
EB: Most of our time together is spent at Chilis. Easily. When we aren’t downing queso, my friends love spending our weekends together by going through the entire game of Cards Against Humanity, having taco night, eating frosting straight from the container, and watching movies like Tarzan, Back to the Future, The Blair Witch Project, and Rugrats in Paris. I luckily have been blessed with friends who value genuine time, belly laughs, and ridiculous spontaneity. We also spend our Sunday mornings together by taking up a whole row at church. That is my favorite time of the week for sure.
HC: Describe your dream date.
EB: Going out to an early breakfast and talking for hours over too many cups of coffee. Or cooking dinner together while watching conspiracy theory documentaries on Netflix. If there’s one thing that I am not high maintenance about, it is going on dates.
HC: Tell us about your interesting birthmark.
EB: Behind my ear, I have a mole that is visible when I wear my hair up. 6 generations of women on my paternal side of the family have the same exact one.
HC: Do you have tattoos? What do they mean to you?
EB: My first tattoo says, “Rivers.” It’s on my ankle, and is a couples tattoo with my soul sister best friend who moved away in high school. She has, “Roads.” It’s the title of the song “Rivers and Roads” by our favorite band The Head and the Heart who we have seen in concert twice together in the past year. The song is about being distanced from those you hold dearest, and make your heart hurt the most when they are away. My second tattoo is a fish on my arm with the words “This is Water” on the inside. It represents a speech by David Foster Wallace with that title. I live by the words of that speech on a daily basis; look it up on YouTube. You will be forever changed. I got my third tattoo a couple of days ago, and it was such an impulse decision that I do not regret at all. Illinois Tattoo Company in Bloomington was celebrating their one-year anniversary on April 1st, and in honor of it, they were giving out $1 tattoos of the outline of the state of Illinois. I really love my home here in the Midwest, and I also want to eventually have a sleeve. It’s just helping me reach that goal while making me feel nostalgic at the same time.
If you’re interested in learning more about Emily and reading some of her awesome work, check out her blog @ ifyouhaveamoment.wordpress.com