Flowers, Friendships & Farewells: The Her Campus End of Year Dinner Party

Our not-so-little chapter has written many articles on how to throw the best garden parties. From what to cook, how to decorate and what to wear… we have studied it all. However, during our end of year dinner, I realised that there is one thing in particular that makes all of our events so special – our friendship. 

It may sound cliché, but I always leave these gatherings feeling particularly warm and loved, not just because I may have had an extra glass of wine. 

At this year’s final garden party, we had to say goodbye to seven of our girls. Whilst this is the cycle every society goes through, the tears in our eyes and incessant hugging during the event is living proof of how strong the bonds we build in this society are. 

In our former Editor-in-Chief Rhiannon Peacock’s words from her speech, Her Campus had ‘above all, taught [her] a lesson about female friendships.’ I couldn’t agree more. Her Campus is not only about writing, it is about writing with other women for other women. It is about events, but events that encourage you to meet new girls and strengthen your relationships with them. It is about creating a community that fosters empowerment through support, laughter and hard work. All these lessons were on my mind as I was putting on my floral dress, ready to go to our annual end of year party.

I had the prosecco ready to celebrate our girls, and a silly salad to match the spring vibes of the event. The events team set everything up in Charlotte’s garden, and like every year, it was beautiful. The centre table was packed with all the wonderfully aesthetic dishes the girls had prepared, a clear reflection of the amount of care and detail that every girl puts into this society. Best of all, we had our Her Campus trifle: a tradition Rhiannon has taken on, following after her predecessor, Kat. The girls had also prepared Aperols and cocktails in true St. Andrews spring spirit, and everyone looked absolutely beautiful. 

As the evening went on, we all got the chance to catch up and reflect on everything we had accomplished this year, as a society and as women. From huge wins, like gaining recognition for our Walk A Mile in Her Shoes event and reaching Elite status in Her Campus; to smaller yet still amazing wins, like running a half-marathon, fighting in fight night or graduating from uni;  every one of us (as a team and as individuals) has grown so much, and we have been able to do this thanks to our friendship. 

Every meeting and event has become an excuse to become closer and support one another in all of our endeavours. Our president, Katie, mentioned how much she loved hearing about everybody’s creative suggestions, but we would not have been able to be as ambitious with our ideas if she had not been there, encouraging us every step of the way, or if the other girls had not rushed to help us make our vision come to life. If we hadn’t had these girls helping us overcome our fears of being judged, we would never have started a podcast, or considered starting a youtube channel. We would not be able to stand in front of a crowd and pour our hearts out to all of these girls if they weren’t smiling at us with so much love and gratitude. 

So, when a group of us had to go up and share some words about these amazing women who are now graduating, we did not feel nervous. We were excited that we got to be the spokespeople for all of the girls that are and have been a part of Her Campus, and say thank you to them. To these women: thank you for always being there for us when we have doubted ourselves, for sharing your stories with us, for making us laugh and smile, for helping us forget our troubles. Thank you for showing us how beautiful female friendships are. 

When writing this article, I was going back and forth between wanting to review the event, and give everyone a sense of how amazing our events team is at creating special gatherings, and simply writing a love letter to Her Campus. In the end I have used this as an opportunity to reflect on how the moments we shared at our end of year dinner made me feel and how this speaks to my experience in Her Campus. I hope this inspires you, in the same way that this society inspires me constantly – to appreciate the wonderful women around you and the power of the female friendships in your life. 

 I just love my Her Campus girls! 

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