As a senior writing this article, I’ve deleted one too many lines already. Her Campus Kent State first came to campus when I was a sophomore. I saw the flyers on campus to join. I was so young and inexperienced I convinced myself that I couldn’t apply, not yet, despite how much I wanted too. I’ve always wanted to be a writer but was unsure if I had enough grammatical and technical skills to become one. I didn’t think I was creative enough or smart enough being the sophomore who had only taken two writing courses in college thus far.
A friend of mine approached me the next semester and asked me if Her Campus would be something I was interested in. I knew of the online magazine but still thought I wasn’t ready; My writing wasn’t quite where I wanted it to be. I declined the offer and waited. To this day I’ll never know what I was waiting for until one day shortly after midterms that same semester, something happened. A professor had told me that if writing was something I wished to pursue as a career, I should seriously consider other options. I cried out of pure embarrassment and discouragement because his words were not very polite. It took a week for me to come to terms with the words my professor had said to me. I think I came across an article on Facebook, or maybe Twitter, shortly after this occurrence. It was a happy-go-lucky article on Her Campus Kent State and I instantly emailed to get involved.
When that professor spoke those dreadful words, he lit a fire inside of me that fueled my determination to prove him wrong. My writing suddenly became stronger; Sometimes my articles were silly and goofy, and sometimes they were insightful and powerful. One thing I knew for sure was that with each article I wrote for Her Campus Kent State my writing was improving. I learned how to take constructive criticism and write on a deadline every week. I learned how to report and collaborate with others on articles. Now that I reflect back on my first few papers, I’ve noticed I am a storyteller. Her Campus Kent State has made me into a wonderful writer and an even better storyteller.
I’m rounding the corner into senior year and out of all the organizations I’ve joined, this one really made my dreams come true. Her Campus Kent State showed me skills on a professional level that I would not have found until later on. As I’m approaching adulthood, I’m gripping hard onto the articles I’m still able to write, my time with my college friends, school events and reflecting back on the great experiences I’ve had. I sit in the weekly meetings and glance around at all the new, young writers. I hope they know that this organization can do so much for one person. Here I am: old and soaking in every last word and idea the editorial team and publicity team has. New leaders are taking over and I couldn’t be more excited for their future achievements and successes.
Thank you Her Campus Kent State. Thank you for believing in me, thank you for encouraging me, and thank you for empowering me. Thank you for letting me know that anything I can imagine is possible. You’ve traveled the world with me, you’ve watched me blossom into the writer I am today. I’m confident, professional and have so much passion for this organization. Thank you for one last year of beautiful articles.