This past weekend I was interviewed for The Wesleyan Argus by a friend of mine, the illustrious Gabe Rosenberg, about my time at Wesleyan and the work I’ve done with Unlocked Magazine. Unlocked is Wes’s student-run art and sexuality magazine, and over the past three years I revived it, re-staffed it, and published some incredible work. Our 2014 calendar should on sale in a few weeks and I will graduate in May knowing I leave Unlocked in capable, talented hands. Being recognized by the Argus for my time as editor-in-chief was a wonderful compliment, and opening the paper to see my own smug face in black and white was validating and surreal.
There is no way to answer the question, “So why do you think you’re a WesCeleb?” without sounding like a pompous jerk. I felt like a fraud during the interview and expected its publication to be met with people complaining who the hell does this chick think she is? But I will be arrogant for a moment and admit I am proud. Proud of Unlocked, proud to be a sex-positive voice at Wesleyan, and proud of myself for becoming who I am over the past three and a half years. As I mention in the interview, Wesleyan helped me understand the intersection of my interest in writing with my interest in sexuality, and I am so excited to leave Wes in May to pursue that passion further (woohoo sex writing!). To say that every ending is a beginning is a cliché, but it is nonetheless true.
Real talk, I was probably made a WesCeleb because I’m dating the best friend of the Argus’s features editor. But if you want to read the piece, it is available online here.
Ella Dawson 