I’m incredibly grateful to be a part of Her Campus. I’m also thankful for the fellow members I’ve had the chance to meet from other chapters. This year, I had the pleasure of chatting with Anjali Badrinarain, a fellow writer from the University of Michigan chapter. Anjali joined Her Campus this past October as a freshman majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. Throughout the conversation, we also did a fun Q&A session to get to know each other a little bit more. It was cool to see that, other than me not liking sports, we have a few things in common (like having a low social battery and an Ed Sheeran phase that we do not talk about).
1. How did you arrive at Her Campus?
I saw a Her Campus ad on a campus bathroom stall. I was immediately interested in this because I took a journalism class last year, and absolutely loved it.
2. How would you describe your experience in Her Campus?
So far, I’ve absolutely enjoyed my time as a member of Her Campus. I love that I’m able to have creative freedom and a flexible writing schedule which allows me to write for enjoyment, and not as a source of stress.
3. Who’s your favorite artist?
It’s hard to say who my favorite artist is. If you asked me five years ago, I would have said Ed Sheeran (yes, I did have an Ed Sheeran phase that we do not talk about), but I honestly have come to find that I like one or two of his songs, but not enough to label them as “my favorite”. I think that, as of right now, my favorite artists include Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Gracie Abrams, and Adele. I also really like music from more vintage artists, such as Queen, The Temptations, and Etta James.
4. Which are your favorite hobbies?
One of my favorite hobbies of all time is going to the gym. I love to push my body to the extremes, and it allows me to relieve some of the stress caused by my academic workload. Another one of my favorite hobbies is annotating books. I know a lot of people hate annotating for a variety of reasons, but I think there is a certain beauty in taking someone’s work and being able to interact with and be fully immersed into the story.
5. If you were to be an ice cream flavor, what would you be and why?
If I were an ice cream flavor, I think I would be salted caramel because there are moments where I can be extremely salty and sarcastic, but also sweet at the same time.
6. If you had one song to describe yourself, what would it be?
If I had to choose, I’d definitely go with Anxiety by Selena Gomez and Julia Michaels. I identify with a lot of points made throughout that song, including having extremely low social battery. All my friends tend to not think I have a low social battery because I try my best to be happy and not act drained around them, but it is extremely energetically depleting for me.
7. If you could travel to any fictional place, what would it be?
Without a doubt, I’d go to Hogwarts in a heartbeat. I literally grew up with the Harry Potter books and movies, so I am extremely connected to the entire Wizarding World. I would probably cry if I ever got to see any of the filming locations. That is actually one of the reasons why I chose U of M, because of the Law Quad. Also, because the Law Library looks just like Hogwarts.
8. What is your favorite song lyric?
One of my favorite song lyrics is in the song Cardigan by Taylor Swift. The lyrics say “you drew stars around my scars” and I think that line is so incredibly beautiful.
9. Are you into sports at all? Do you play or like to watch sports in your free time?
I have played soccer since I was around 5 years old, although I recently stopped because of my transition to college. I played with my team for years, so it was hard to leave and that is one of the main reasons I have not joined an intramural team in college. I have also been dancing since I was 2 and started to compete during my freshman year of high school. However, I also stopped dancing as well because I found that it was more stressful than funーat least for me. To answer your other question, I watch a lot of sports! I love watching football, basketball, and soccer games. My favorite football teams are obviously the UMich team and the Boston Patriots when it comes to the NFL. As for NBA basketball, I enjoy watching the Celtics, and I only watch the United States women’s national soccer team (USWNT) for soccer.