This week, I had the lovely opportunity of meeting a new Her Campus member, Lucy Kudlinski. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, Lucy (she/her), is a second year here at UCSD, attending Eleanor Roosevelt College. She’s majoring in Dance with a second major in Communication. During our little chat, I was able to get to know her a bit better.
My first question for Lucy was what made her join Her Campus. Smiling, she explained that she has always had an interest in journalism because throughout high school she wrote for a local newspaper. She wanted a space to practice her writing skills where she could be surrounded by empowering women who uplift each other. She had read Her Campus articles in high school, but didn’t realize the magazine had chapters on different college campuses. When she got to UCSD, some of her friends were already in Her Campus and Lucy was able to see what an amazing space it is for women and writing. She went on to tell me about some of the articles she’s excited to write. For example, inspired by the Netflix show Bridgerton, Lucy plans on following her love for period films to explore the nature of women gossiping. With an emphasis on how gossiping has been villainized over the years, she wants to elaborate on how gossiping was vital for women to survive in a society in which their voices were never heard.
Next, Lucy and I jumped topics to talk about what some of our biggest to-dos in life are. On her bucket list, Lucy has included a trip to Iceland. Fascinated with the culture and geographical nature of the country, she finds that Iceland seems as though it belongs to a different world – one she would love to explore one day. Another dream of hers is to scuba dive in Bali, Indonesia. She told me they’re known for their manta rays and would love the opportunity to swim alongside them.
Her love for the ocean and sea animals also might provide an explanation for what she believes to be her best memory here at UCSD. She shared with me that on their last day of school, Lucy and her friends took the ever so familiar walk down to Blacks Beach. They spent the day in the warm San Diego sun, swimming and surfing all the way until sunset. She explained that even though this is a universal experience for students at UCSD, there is something beautifully intimate about going to the beach and swimming in the ocean as the sun sets. That night, she even stepped on a stingray and miraculously did not get stung! It must have been able to sense her love for sea creatures.
However, being at UCSD hasn’t been all amazing walks to the beach when it’s warm out. We shifted into discussing the pandemic and how it has affected us. Lucy explained to me that a good way the pandemic has changed her is by making her realize the importance of routines. She describes herself as spontaneous, the perfect gal to go on an adventure with whenever the chance arises, but that didn’t always help her when it came to school. During the pandemic, she realized that when it came to being productive with her academics, she needed to hold herself accountable. Relying on routines and keeping herself responsible for her work allowed her to focus better on school, even with it being online. Lucy feels grateful for having learned this lesson in her early stages of adulthood, as it’s something she believes we should all grow to understand.
Lucy and I both agreed that life is not at all what we imagined it would be like, let alone what we simply thought college would be like. When I asked her what she would tell herself five years ago, and what she would tell herself five years from now, her response was full of kindness. Five years ago, Lucy’s main piece of advice would be: don’t worry, everything is going to work out in the end. At that time in her life, she had been dead set on becoming a marine biologist, when she had a sudden epiphany that maybe that wasn’t what she wanted to pursue. The thought terrified her, leaving her confused and worried for her future. But now, five years wiser than when she first thought that, Lucy has learned that it’s okay to not know what you’re doing, or what you want to do. It is okay if your whole life, that perfect picture you always had of what your future was going to look like, ends up not being what you want anymore. She has found that it’s better to pursue what you know will make you happiest rather than what you’ve always thought you wanted.
As for what she’d tell herself in five years, Lucy answered with the same kind mentality: don’t think you have to have everything figured out. She thought that by now, as a second year in college, she’d have more of her life sorted out. But the reality is, she doesn’t, and she admitted that in five years, she probably still won’t. And that’s okay, because what matters most to her is that she’s following what makes her happy. What she wants for herself in five years is for whatever she’s pursuing to be her passion. Lucy wants to make sure that no matter what, she’s taking the time to simply enjoy and indulge in life, doing things that are fun and interesting just for the sake of experience.