While the title is not meant to reference Charles Dickens’ famous novel of the same name, this Thanksgiving collab with the Her Campus UMICH chapter and HC at UPR got me to hear a little bit of Jayden; and thus create my version of a tale of two cities.
Being a Michigan local, Jayden Spencer currently studies a bachelor’s in English Language & Literature with the hope (and eventual reality, because she is great) of becoming a writer. Both of us found our clear objectives within Her Campus; and that was to discover and explore our voices as writers. In Jayden’s case, it has been a chance for her to explore and participate in other UMICH activities.
Although she lives in Michigan, UMICH is a three hour drive from where she lives! However, Jayden did describe how she enjoys the ride over to her house; especifically now, around fall season. She currently lives on campus with a few of her close friends. One of them is actually a member of the Lasell Her Campus chapter. Besides HervCampus, Jayden is also involved in various student associationsーmost of which are based on writing, since it is one of Spencer’s main interests.
We both bonded over our love of wanting our writing style to be different and memorable. While I go for a more bold approach, Jayden enjoys writing very detailed and descriptive articles, while also keeping it simple. However, we are both clear on one thing: neither one of us is too shy to write a piece that’s creative, a bit different than what our audience is used to seeing, and that merges our personal experiences with the content we create. One of them is her most recent article which almost made me jump on a plane to Michigan. Northern Michigan looks amazing!
Throughout our Zoom hangout, which was unfortunately interrupted at times because of both of our internet services, I got a chance to also speak to Jayden a bit about the current strike situation happening here in Puerto Rico. I was not only thankful for the chance to speak out about what is happening with our public university system with Jayden, but to also hear some of her insight. Besides that, we also bonded over our idea of wanting to travel the world. As for Jayden’s plans, she hopes to travel and hear people’s voices and cultures while she’s doing so. She’s also looking forward to writing content based on her traveling experiences; so her readers can view the world and its wonders through her eyes.
All in all, it was very nice to talk to Jayden and learn about her experience as a member of the HC Lasell chapter. Specifically, it was really interesting to gain some insight into how they work and bond. This Thanksgiving activity brought a little piece of Puerto Rico over to UMICH and I definitely left our Zoom meet feeling recharged, happy and eager to spend Thanksgiving over at Northern Michigan after hearing how amazing and relaxed it is over there.
Despite the uncertainties of the world, it really warms my heart to hear new stories of people who share my passions. Even more, their passions can also fuel your interest in creating new ones. In this case (with Jayden), it was now facing new challenges in writing and being even more open creatively to pursue new writing goals. I’m thankful for my talk with Jayden and even more so of Her Campus as a whole and the opportunity of being able to, although in two cities, create an awesome tale of both of our experiences.