Hi everyone! My name is Madison, and I am a junior at West Virginia University! Nothing too special, right?
Well, let me tell you all a story.
At the beginning of my sophomore year in college, I changed my major to journalism. I thought it would be perfect for me, considering I have always loved to write (my previous major was pre-vet, which although I'd love to think of myself as helping all the animals, science just wasn't my thing).
It was the first week of classes, and I forced myself to go to a club fair to check out the journalism clubs I could potentially join. I had already compiled a list of organizations that looked fairly fun and beneficial, so going in, I began to scout them out. I had taken one step forward when two people standing next to a blue and silver hand-made poster board picked me out from the crowd. "Hey, do you like magazines?!"
Well of course I did, who didn't enjoy a good flip-through of a glossy magazine at the grocery store check out?
They began telling me about their organization, ending the presentation with promises of a trip to New York City, a place I had never been in my nineteen years of existence but had always DREAMED of visiting and living in, and to be honest, I was sold, just because of that sole reason.
The first meetings were tough, because I had highly underestimated the club. These people were making a magazine entirely from scratch, and the weekly meetings and workload was insanely similar to my journalism 225 class (which was a lot).
But the spring semester came, and I found myself extremely excited by the magazine we had just sent out into the world, and the next issue we would launch in April. I pitched ideas, wrote feverishly, and did everything I could to show my peaking interest in the magazine world.
The trip to New York City was extravagant in every sense of the word. The city itself was astounding (although Morgantown is the farthest thing from a glistening city, I have always dreamed of a penthouse apartment to retire in), the people were mesmerizing, and the businesses were things from my dreams.
I specifically remember walking into Allure's headquarters and being overwhelmed by the beauty of it. Don't get me wrong, the space was similar to what you may be thinking. There were rows of desks, each one cluttered with papers and books, and the over-ruling authority that was the editor-in-chief, who sat in her isolated office, but there was also beauty products littering the entire room. They were stacked atop of each other messily, and spilled from the "beauty closet," as they called it. It was in that moment, as I took in Madisen Theobald's journey and snapping pictures of her desk with my iPhone, I knew this was where I wanted to be in the future, and no where else.
So, what is the point of this blog post? Why should this be my first?
Not only is this place a sanctuary for my thoughts and my introduction to the business world and journalism, but it is also a constant reminder to myself to never forget that feeling I had in Allure. To never forget the moment of breathlessness I faced. That moment will forever be my motivation to go someplace big.
But for now, I write for whoever is reading.
Get ready, ladies and gents, because you are stuck with me now!
xoxo, Madison