Over the last few years, I’ve been perfecting my writing and building a bubble of comfort around myself. I love writing articles, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Discussions around mental health and the arts have been my main sources of inspiration and mediums for my writing. Because I focused so much on those, I never really branched out and explored where my writing could go. That is, until this semester, when the opportunity of a lifetime appeared on a “Now Hiring” poster taped to a light pole outside my organic chemistry class.
“Introducing Seam Magazine.”
I’d heard of other fashion magazines (like Strike at various Florida campuses and Stitch at FSU) but I had never seen USF’s own. So, I was excited to try my hand at fashion writing. Now, Seam presented two really interesting challenges:
- This is the debut issue of the magazine.
- I have never tried fashion writing before, despite being assigned the features writer position.
But from the moment I attended the first meeting, I knew this would be my favorite challenge yet.
When I got the role of features writer, it gave me the opportunity to put my two favorite things together: journalism and storytelling. To be honest, my first digital article was kind of embarrassing, but it was my trial run with fashion writing! I had no ideas at first, so I pulled inspiration from living in the Pinellas County area and made a curated list of five local boutiques and thrift stores. It was poorly written and had the grammar of a kindergartener, but for a first attempt, it worked. However, my first print article was where I finally proved why I belonged on Seam’s debut issue.
I love telling stories, and I love getting to tell my story for the world to hear. As soon as I heard the theme — “Making Waves” and leaving your mark in the fashion industry — a question that had always haunted me came to mind: What does it mean to be beautiful? This was my moment to tell my story and truly tell how I made my own personal mark. Finding my definition of beauty took nearly my entire life, and it was a painful, grueling process. But that is even the beginning of making a ripple. What really matters in fashion is discovering your own definition of beauty, and sharing your story of growth. And that is exactly what I wrote my first article about. It was the toughest article, but also the one I’m most proud of. That pushed me to continue challenging my writing through Seam, and as difficult as it was, I loved every second of it.
I had been looking for a way to push myself and stay motivated, and Seam gave me that outlet. Our team is full of hardworking, passionate people committed to getting Seam off the ground. And it’s paying off! I hope to continue writing and expanding my boundaries, and I want to be able to make my writing as good as it can be. If anyone’s thinking about joining Seam Magazine for the next issue, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s fun, inspiring, and has pushed me creatively more than anything else ever has.