It's been a long time coming, this grand reveal, but with the very last day of 2014, I finally feel ready to make my next move: with this afternoon's
new College Fashion post in my "Looks from Books" column, I will be ending my time spent as contributor editor for that website.
For the past two years - since January 2nd, 2013, when
my first article, on Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, went up - I've worked diligently to put forth a quality post every other Sunday. That's evened out to
fifty-three articles having been published on
College Fashion... and today's is that 53rd.
First thought: I mean, YIKES, right? I've put a lot of labor and love into this thing, and I'm not really moving on to another ingenious plan just yet. There's no exit strategy for my departure; it's just the culmination of so much work, saying, "I think it's time to go now."
I applied for this position not just before I knew who my Big was, but before I even knew who my friends in college really were, or even who I really had the potential to be.
College Fashion was something to beef up my resume and take up space in my newly lackluster schedule. For a while, it's been something I've kind of had to built my lifestyle around, and now, it's something I'm leaving behind.
Second thought: Let's look at alittle simple arithmetic, here: between brainstorming themes, creating outfit ideas, researching novels and their respective histories, and writing the whole damn thing - not to mention reading the books they're based off of in the first place! - I spent
at least fifteen hours every two weeks reading and writing and clicking before submitting. Now that I don't have to fit all of that work into my schedule, look at how much more time I'll have to spend on books!
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| "It's Okay to Spill Tea on This," Fangirl |
But seriously: the last time I've spent more than a couple of days ruminating over a book outside of school - regardless of its themes or origins or even how much I really, really liked it - was
when I read Anna Karenina. I spent about three weeks carving out a hole in my brain for that book to live in, and when I was done with it, I knew it had been worth it. It became my first
College Fashion post.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to read a book like that since then... even though
Gone with the Wind,
Madame Bovary, and
The Brothers Karamazov are all sitting on my bookshelf as we speak, and have been waiting patiently for me for so long.
That doesn't mean that I haven't been learning from it, however. Between
finding AP teachers who have linked their class blogs to my posts - like
one did to Wuthering Heights - as well as getting my participation grade bumped up by
an especially enthusiastic professor, by
doing a post on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales while taking a course in that subject, I've had plenty of grades to show for my hard work.
And there have been plenty more than teachers who've been with me for the journey: whether it was
friends of friends at UW expressing their appreciation, or engaging commenters online with interesting discussion points, there's been plenty of bookish buddies found through this column!
So, don't be glum, chum. It's a fond parting for me and
College Fashion, and I'll always be happy to have spent such a long time with such a great website. It's helped me develop my voice, my style, and my portfolio, and I am proud of the work that I've done there.
I hope you've all enjoyed the journey as much as I have!
Now, for the fun part: since I'm parting ways with the column, I thought it would be fun to take a little trip down memory lane, and
pick out some of my very favorite outfits from my very favorite posts! (Hint: You're looking at them!)
And, of course, stay tuned for my last
College Fashion "Looks from Books" Link Up post, coming this afternoon!
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| "Perfect Match," Emma |
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