This week for our campus celebrity issue, you’ll get to meet HC Staff Writer Kellie Anderson, who is the future leader of HC Western Ontario for Fall 2015! This selfie queen got involved with HC early this year, and already she has become one of our star writers, writing some of our top-viewed viral content and hosting events for HC. Kellie’s creative spunk, determination, and passion for writing makes her the perfect candidate to lead our chapter, and I can honestly say HC is being left in the best hands possible!
AE: What’s your year and program?KA: I’m in third year MIT Honours Specialization. If all goes as planned, next year will be my last! There’s something very exciting but also very sad about that.
AE: Where are you from? KA: I grew up in a small town called Georgina. If you don’t know where that is, it’s 15 minutes north of Newmarket. If you don’t know where Newmarket is, just drive an hour north of Toronto… or snowmobile across Lake Simcoe from Barrie.
AE: What made you decide to come to Western? KA: I have family who live in London and once I started getting older, I’d ask my parents to drive past the campus. My first real visit was the year before I graduated from high school and I just completely fell in love with the campus. I also loved how much spirit the school had and to be honest… purple was my favourite colour.
AE: Tell us how you got involved with Her Campus.KA: I got involved with Her Campus after seeing a post in the 2016 Social Group on Facebook. All I remember is that the post said something about writing and getting published and I was in! I messaged the HC Correspondent and started writing right away. Needless to say, I had been waiting for an opportunity like that for a while!
AE: What was the most fun article for you to write and why? KA: The most fun article I have written so far would have to be “Breaking Up With Miley Cyrus”. While most of my articles have a more serious tone, I wrote that one in about 10 minutes while on a serious rant. While the article is meant to be satirical and funny, I think there’s still a lot of truth in what I was able to let out. I also really liked writing my fake-horoscope article because a lot of the information was inspired by own friends and things that we’ve experienced. For example: “VIRGO (Aug 24th -Sept 22nd)WHERE TO GO THIS MONTH: Cobra – ThursdayWHAT TO DO: Don’t make quick decisions – think things through. Leave your phone at home so that you won’t take down the number of the Ivey douchebag you let grind on you for a bit on the d-floor.”
AE: Your first article, “What It’s Really Like Having Depression and Anxiety in University” received a lot of attention and pageviews. What was that like and what kind of responses did you get?KA: The response was incredible. I remember when we sat down and you told me how many views the article had gotten and I got emotional. I had one of those moments where it was like, this is your time, this is your moment, don’t waste it. It was crazy to me because it was my first article and I was like ok, I might as well retire… there’s no way I’ll top this. On a personal level, writing that article was extremely liberating. I had struggled with those very serious illnesses for a very long time and many of my fellow students had no clue. Outing myself like that was scary, but I am thankful I did. It was a weight off my shoulders, and the amount of people who I was able to reach and begin conversations with about their similar issues was empowering.
AE: Where do you hope Her Campus Western Ontario will go in the future? Are there any events or goals you’d like to see happen for the chapter?KA: I hope Her Campus will continue to inspire people like me. I had always loved to write, but I needed an outlet. Her Campus became my outlet; it became a place where I could discuss my experiences and vocalize the things that many other people feel but may not have been able to put into words. Her Campus Western Ontario already has an amazing team of women, but I am so excited to spread the word and to grow our chapter. Every girl should feel she has a voice, and Her Campus is so open and understanding, that there are virtually zero topics we can’t tackle together.
AE: What do you like to do in your free time? KA: I love to sleep, I love to eat, I love to shop, and I love to write. I write everyday. It could be an entire short story, a song, or a blog. Doesn’t matter — it just calms and relaxes me. Cleaning also relaxes me… I’m a bit OCD. My bed is always made. Oh, and sometimes, just sometimes, I manage to look decent and leave the house. I’ve even been known to go on a date or two.
AE: What’s three words you’d use to describe your writing style?KA: Sarcastic, Honest, Combustible
AE: What’s something about yourself that people are surprised to learn?KA: At the beginning of this year I was diagnosed with pancreatitis, a very serious health issue that landed me in the hospital and put my life in jeopardy. Following that scary experience I quit both drinking and eating unhealthy foods for 5 months, in order to let my body heal. Not drinking in University for that long may sound crazy, but although difficult, it completely changed my life for the better.
AE: Where do you hope to end up, career-wise?KA: There are a million things I want to do… Hopefully one of them will turn out!
AE: I know your younger sister is one of the most important people in your life. What’s some advice you would give her that you wish you had when you were young?KA: I have thought about this question a lot, but in all honesty, although she’s 11 years younger, I think she teaches me more than I teach her. It’s amazing how much I look up to my little sister… You could even call me jealous. She loves herself, she knows she is beautiful and doesn’t question it; and she knows that beauty doesn’t just mean how she looks. She reminds me of all the things I have to be grateful for and points out all the things I do that don’t matter — like wearing make-up. She even calls me out when I wear a skirt that’s too short, or if I use a swear word. Most people call her a mini-me, but personally think she’s the better me. She is the “me” before I was forced to grow up. I wish more than anything that she would never have to grow up, but it is my hope that we always remain close and that through my difficult experiences as a young adult, I can help her along the way.
Quick Quiz:
- Guilty pleasure: Grilled Cheese, Oatmeal, and Cereal…. Carbs.
- Favourite show to binge-watch: Anything with a strong female lead.
- Favourite beverage: Coffee
- Biggest inspiration: One day I hope to say myself – Is that allowed?
- Describe yourself in three words: Stubborn, Emotional, Raw
- Your life in a song title: Sugar, We’re Going Down
- Celeb girl crush: Blake Lively
- Dream vacation: Greece/France/India
YAY or NAY:
- The colour purple: YAY Purple Pride
- Beards: HAY boy YAY
- iPhones: YAY
- The Snapchat emoji update: YAY 4 equality
- Taylor Swift: YAY How could you not?
- Velvet: NAY (Fun fact: one of my roommates is obsessed with velvet)
- Man buns: YAY Baybay
- Mesh tops from American Apparel: NAY
- Gatsby: YAY 4 book, NAY 4 bar
- Miley Cyrus: Sorry girl, we’ve been over this… NAY
- Glitter: YAY (I love crafting)
- Zayn leaving 1D: NAY (He was my favourite… the scruff…)
- Burritos: YAYYYYY
- Snow: NAY
- Kim K: I don’t even know what to say.
- Club promoters: I’ll say YAY (in fear of never getting into a bar again.)
- Tights as pants: EveryDYAY