This week at Her Campus, we’re highlighting one of our authors: Christina Norwood! Whether she’s discussing why victim blaming is wrong or how disabled babies deserve life, she has a passion for real-world issues that affect people every day.
Her Campus (HC): What’s your major?
Christina Norwood (CN): I’m an English major with a Creative Writing emphasis.
HC: If you had to descride yourself in three words or phrases, what would they be?
CN: I’d describe myself as incredibly shy, nerdy, forgetful, and hard-working. I’ve also been told that my love language is food. It takes a lot of effort for people to get to know me; I’m a living ball of awkward and really shy to boot, so I tend to scurry right out of class as soon as the lesson is over.
Once I get comfortable with someone, though, I don’t stop talking and I can be quite goofy. I also like to feed people and my roommate bribed me to open up to her by giving me food and tea, thus the comment that my love language is food. I’m a huge nerd and work really hard at everything I do, but I also have the memory of a 97-year-old woman; my room is littered with sticky note reminders.
HC: What are your hobbies?
CN: I write a lot (my emphasis kind of gives that away, I guess), but I also really enjoy learning about other languages and cultures. I’m working on learning Korean right now, so I watch a lot of Korean TV shows and listen to a lot of Korean music. If you see me walking around campus listening to music, it’s in Korean. I want to live in South Korea for at least a year, so my goal is to get fluent — I’m nowhere near fluent right now, though.
I love reading, but choosing a favorite [book] is so hard! I tend to gravitate toward classical literature, though. If I had to choose, I’d probably narrow it down to Les Miserables or The Once And Future King. Both books have amazing themes, and I love the way T.H. White portrays Lancelot.
Also, if anyone has any questions about the situation in North Korea and the difficulties that its citizens face both in their own country and as refugees in China, I’ll literally talk your ear off for hours and give you a great nonprofit that you can get t-shirts from to support the escape of North Korean refugees from China.
I can also point you towards some great books to read written by North Koreans who have escaped North Korea (many of whom were in concentration camps or survived the famine that killed millions in the 1990’s). I have a huge heart for the cause, so if anyone ventures to ask me, they’ll probably have to tell me to shut up at some point.
HC: That’s great! How has your experience been as a writer for HC?
CN: ’ve loved writing for Her Campus. I really enjoy getting to choose my own topics to write about, since that means that I’ll really care about each article I write. It’s a lot easier to write an article on a topic I’m interested in or passionate about than it is to squeeze out an article about something I consider boring. I also love that deadlines are flexible — if I’m feeling overwhelmed with work or if I’m sick, I don’t have to worry about forcing out an article that will be below my usual quality.