The summer between second and third year, I found myself at odds with myself. The beginning of the “what am I going to do with the rest of my life?” panic began and I finally realized that simply going to university and getting a degree may not be enough to help me land a job upon graduation. I realized I was putting the bare minimum into my education and was turning a blind eye to the experience and opportunities that Laurier offered. I finally accepted that it was time to try something new and put myself out there if I wanted to graduate with experience under my belt.
I had noticed Her Campus articles floating around on my Facebook news feed and found myself consumed with the words that my classmates were writing. I loved how relatable all the articles were, especially because they were written by girls my own age, experiencing the same struggles and highs that I had been experiencing as a collegiette. I started to take note. The fashion articles inspired me to expand my wardrobe, the DIY articles pushed me to be crafty, and the career articles drove me to take a chance and apply for the club that had inspired me all along.
Skip forward two years later and writing for Her Campus is definitely one of the most rewarding experiences of my undergraduate career. I was able to expand my writing from the English degree classroom into my own personal writing portfolio. Blogging for Her Campus was never “work” for me- it was the time I took for myself each week to be creative and let my thoughts flow into inspiration on a page.
These two years of running the style blog for Her Campus Laurier pointed me towards my passion for fashion writing and inspired me to expand my horizons. This past summer I launched my own fashion and lifestyle blog. I started from scratch and had absolutely no idea what I was doing (and am still learning!) but reading comments and feeling like my content was valuable to other women made me realize that the field of online content creation was exactly where I flourished. I knew upon graduation that I wanted to continue to build my writing skills, so when a position for an entertainment and fashion writer appeared, I took the leap, applied and miraculously was offered the position.
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(Source: http://oliviadipede.com)
Her Campus ultimately helped me learn where I belonged career-wise and gave me the experience I needed to land a job in journalism. We are always told that as recent grads we are bound to struggle with finding a job come graduation. We’re told time and time again that we put time and effort into useless majors that will serve no purpose in our careers… but I’m here to tell you that does not have to be the case! I now know that being a writer is NOT an unattainable goal. It takes starting small and a lot of hard work, but staying true to your passion is never something you should be discouraged about.
In retrospect, if I had never applied for Her Campus, the chain of events that pointed me towards my passion for journalism may have never happened. I’m so grateful for all the mentorship and experience that the Her Campus family has provided me with. Writing is definitely a skill that develops with practice and this outlet gave me that opportunity during my undergrad. If you have a passion, don’t hesitate to pursue it and work hard towards your dreams. It may take starting at the very bottom or failing 10 times before finding any success, but the job you imagine for yourself is out there if you stay committed and inspired.
Find the places you flourish – Her Campus helped me find mine.