When I joined Her Campus, I was going through a lot of life changes. The kind that shifts everything at once and makes things feel unfamiliar for a while. I didn’t feel grounded, and I definitely didn’t feel like myself.
Joining the club wasn’t something I overthought — it just kind of happened. But looking back, it turned out to be one of the most important parts of my college experience.
There was something about walking into that space that felt different right away. It wasn’t overwhelming or competitive. It just felt welcoming in a way that was real, not surface-level. Like you could show up exactly as you were, and that was enough.
The people are what made it what it was. I have never been surrounded by such an intelligent, kind, and genuinely passionate group of women. Everyone brought something different, but it worked. There was support without pressure, encouragement without comparison, and it made it easy to feel comfortable there.
Writing became a bigger part of my life because of this club. I found myself actually wanting to sit down and write about things I cared about, which wasn’t something I had felt in a while. Being able to share those pieces with people who understood or appreciated them meant more than I expected. And somewhere in all of that, things started to shift for me. Not all at once, and not in a way that was obvious right away, but slowly. I started feeling more like myself again. More present. More connected to what I was doing and the people around me.
I also met one of my best friends through this club — Ashley. It’s one of those things you don’t expect going in, but somehow it ends up meaning everything.
What Her Campus gave me wasn’t just a place to write or something to add to my schedule. It gave me a sense of feeling alive again for the first time in a long time. It gave me something to look forward to, something that felt like mine, and a group of people who made everything feel a little lighter.
And I don’t think I’ll ever fully be able to explain what that meant to me.
So this is my thank you — for the space, the people, the creativity, and everything it gave me without me even realizing it at the time. I’ll carry that with me long after I leave.