Ever since I was a young girl, humor has been an integral part of my identity—my friends have always considered me the ‘funny one,’ even back when my main schtick involved naming all my school supplies and insisting they had their own unique personalities (although to be honest that knocked it out of the park with Mrs. Bellenger’s 4th grade class). So you can imagine that when my E3W career began, I was thrilled to have finally found a formal outlet for my humor.
As a lowly junior-year transfer student, feeling awkward, insecure, and desperate for a sense of belonging—much like I feel now and will likely continue to feel for the rest of my life—I applied to be a staff writer at a friend’s suggestion (mad props Juhee Lee), and was delighted to find out I got in. The first year went well enough—in the beginning I wrote some truly terrible articles (lookin’ at you, “Area Homeless Benefit from Seminar on Aggressive Panhandling”) but slowly started to improve. The feeling of becoming good at something you are passionate about is incredible, and I became more and more dedicated to The Every Three Weekly with each passing cycle. Halfway through my first year, I was chosen as a rising Editor-in-Chief, which is when my involvement and love for this group really started to take off.
If my first year was focused on improving my writing, the second year was focused on getting to know people on staff. And it was, if I do say so myself, a rousing success. Never before had I met such a funny, approachable, self-deprecating, sarcastic, neurotic, and completely endearing group of assholes in my life. I’m proud to say that most of my best friends I made in college were from the E3W. And, if I may indulge in my own narcissism for a moment, I truly believe that the sense of friendship and community that I (and of course my dear fellow EIC Seth Wolin) fostered contributed a lot towards making the E3W a friendlier, less intimidating, more laid back, and more fun atmosphere which, in my not-sohumble opinion, has lasted to this day and will for years to come. That, I hope, will be my legacy.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention some career highlights: watching a father and son laugh hysterically over an E3W after handing them a copy on the Diag, when a writer told me that seeing a woman’s name (mine, lol) under Editorin- Chief in the staff box convinced her to apply, getting an amazing job offer right after graduating largely due to my participation on the E3W, having people actually look up to me/ think I’m slightly cool, and writing the articles “Students Stage Sit-in During Football Games to Protest New Seating Policy,” “I May Be Supreme Overlord of Syria, but the Real Challenge is Raising Three Rambunctious Pre-Teens” by Bashar Al-Assad, “Scientists Isolate Particle Responsible for the Michigan Difference”, and “Area Man Not Planning on Bringing Up Great Start-up Idea in Conversation but Hey, If it Comes Up.”
Other fond memories include sweet lil abbreviations (SLAs), BurgerFi after layouts, and sloppy but incredibly fun socials.
I want to close by thanking everyone on the Every Three Weekly for their hard work, valuable feedback, support, and, most of all, friendship. Without you, I wouldn’t have honed my comedic chops, built up my self-esteem, gained valuable leadership skills, and made life-long friendships. Keep it real, baby girls.
