Over the course of this semester, I have been both editing and writing for the UW-Stout’s Her Campus. Being a writer has been a dream of mine (even though I didn’t realize it at first, hello two years of organic chemsitry) since I was very young. Coming into Her Campus, I honestly was dreading the idea of having to write (and omg, interview) articles every week; I’m not that creative or brave! But, I surprised myself, and in doing so, found my passion. So, without further ado, here are a few of the lessons I learned being a Her Campus writer:
Putting Yourself Out There is a Good Thing
I don’t like the spotlight, I cringe at being critiqued, and social interactions aren’t necessarily my forte. Her Campus required all of these at some point, and you know what? I didn’t burst into flames or die on the spot. I’m a published writer! My work is so on the internet that if you type in my name, it comes up. I never thought that I would ever be able to say that, and the fact that I can is still baffling to me. I pushed past my comfort zones, and now can go forward with more confidence knowing I can do things I once thought I would never be able to do. So what can be learned from this? Don’t let your fears get in the way of fun, or your life’s passion. Break away from what you would normally do and find something unexpected to get involved in.
It’s Okay to do Some Shameless Self Promoting
I’m not one to toot my own horn, which is probably why most of my social media pages have single digit followers. I didn’t want to brag about myself so I remained silent. Guess what, no one notices you that way. If I wanted my friends and family to read my articles, I had to share them on social media or many times directly emailed them saying, “hey look what I did!” You need blow your own trumpet if you want people (aka employers) to see you. Get out there and talk yourself up! Share that awesome thing you did in class or for your internship. People these days aren’t going to notice you unless you push yourself to the forefront of their attention.
Selective Editing is Important
I wrote articles, then rewrote them, and rewrote them again. Selective editing is important because it cuts down all the fluff to what is really important in the article. This can be applied to real life too. Sometimes there are certain things in life that we can cut from our lives to make it better. The who, what, when, and where’s during our life in college are important because they can support us, build us, and make us better; or bring us down and hurt our chances in life. Every once in a while it doesn’t hurt to look over our lives and edit out the things that don’t need to be there and improve it!
Do it Before It’s too Late
I was told that a couple students at Stout were starting up a Her Campus the first year that it was created. However, I didn’t join because I was scared. To me, writing articles, interviewing people, and having deadlines seemed much too stressful for me. I made the excuses that I didn’t have time for it in my schedule, I don’t like having to question people I don’t know, it wasn’t exactly what I saw myself doing with my major so it was a waste of my time, were all excuses I kept telling myself. I. Was. Wrong; So wrong. Here I now am, writing my last article, and I wish I started sooner. Please, if you think you want to do something, at least try it! Don’t wait until its too late and wish you had started sooner!