Well fellow Her Campers, this is officially my last ever Her Campus article. I was thinking a lot about what I wanted my final thoughts on this website to be, and I can’t think of anything more perfect than a letter! A letter to Her Campus, and all that this organization has done for me over the past four years. So this is for you, the readers, the writers, my Stonehill Chapter. This is a letter for everyone and anyone who stumbles upon it.
Dear Her Campus,
It feels like just yesterday I was an insecure freshman stepping onto campus at Stonehill. I had no friends, and no idea what to expect out of the next four years. The one thing that I was sure of was that I wanted to get involved on campus. Apart from being on the varsity tennis team, I spent almost three full years of high school sheltered, keeping my distance from most extracurricular activities. I vowed to myself I wouldn’t be that person in college.
Two weeks into the year, I saw a Facebook post about Stonehill’s Her Campus chapter needing new members. An online blog for college women? That sounded like the perfect club for me to join. The English major in me sparked to life, and I eagerly messaged the student who made the post and asked if I could attend the first meeting. I was so proud of myself for joining a club so quickly!
Around that same time, I was moving out of my first dorm and into a new dorm across campus. The situation with my first roommate was suitable, and she was lovely, but there were a few things we didn’t really agree on in terms of boundaries. I had met a new friend at orientation, and she happened to have a double room to herself. With my situation involving my then current roommate, and this new friend wanting a roommate, we decided that I would just move in with her.
So I moved in with this friend, and we became even closer. Sure, we had our ups and downs, but as I’m writing this letter four years later I can say that she is now one of my best friends, and I truly don’t know how I would have gotten through these past four years without her.
Anyway, this friend and I were talking, and I happened to mention that I was planning to go to this club meeting for Her Campus. I saw her eyes light up instantly, and she told me she saw the same Facebook post and was also planning on going.
So we trekked through the dark and cold night, not really knowing where we were going, to a resident building, and attended our first Her Campus meeting. That night was the beginning of an amazing adventure.
Throughout the rest of freshman year and all of sophomore year we wrote articles. We would talk about what we were writing and would ask each other for opinions or ideas. We bought Stonehill Her Campus merchandise, and just had fun. We each had our separate things; she did art club and wrote for the school newspaper, I became an editor for an on-campus magazine and joined the equestrian club, but Her Campus was the one thing we loved to share with each other.
Then junior year came around. It was peak COVID-19 and I didn’t step foot on Stonehill’s campus that entire year. However, the girls who ran the club before us had all graduated, and the rolls needed to be filled. Having been a part of Her Campus since freshman year, stepping up into these roles was something that Kelly and I were both interested in. She ended up becoming our President, and I became the Senior Editor. Seeing as most of us were remote that year, we didn’t get to do as much as we would have liked, but it still felt good to be even more involved in the first club that I had ever joined at Stonehill.
This year was the year that we really thrived. Kelly worked hard to get Her Campus an official club on campus, and planned fun meetings for all of our wonderful members. I found new friends in most of the other eBoard members. We created memories and will be leaving a great group of strong-minded women behind to fill our shoes.
All of this to say that Her Campus was a monumental part of my time as a college student. It gave me an outlet to write about things that were on my mind, and a community to form friendships. It was a safe place. This club has allowed me to sharpen my writing skills, allowed me to be creative, and has documented just how much progress I have made as a writer over the last four years.
These past two years as Senior Editor have allowed me to improve my editing skills, but it also was so incredible to be able to read all of the articles that our amazing chapter wrote each week, and I am sad to know that the number of articles left for me to read are very limited. I also know that whoever takes on this role next year will do amazing, and I hope that they find it to be as rewarding as I did.
I’ve always been a more introverted person. I believe that writing things down on paper, or typing them on a digital page is much easier than speaking them out loud. I find myself writing letters when I’m angry or hurt by someone, instead of having a conversation. Her Campus has allowed me to be vulnerable in a way that I am most comfortable, by writing words rather than speaking them. I owe a lot to Her Campus, and to the people that I have met through it.
I’d like to make a final shoutout to my ride or die Stonehill buddy, a thank you to anyone who has ever read any of my articles, to Her Campus, and to all the amazing members of Stonehill Her Campus, the past, present, and future ones. Girl power, excuse me, woman power, forever!
And with that, I am hitting the “Save for Final Review” button one final time.
Signing off,
Emma <3