I am fashionably late.

Hi! I'm Hillary. I like clothes and books. I'm not sure which I prefer more, but I did choose going to Shimer over pursuing a degree in fashion journalism, so I think that ought to speak for itself. My favorite designers are Chanel, Betsey Johnson, Nanette Lepore, Douglas Hannant, Marchesa, Anna Sui, and Givenchy. My favorite writers are F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, Truman Capote, Joseph Heller, David Sedaris, Thomas Friedman and Bill Bryson. I like to think I'm well-rounded.

Born and raised in Oregon, I struggled a bit in high school. The work itself was fairly easy for me. I just couldn't stand the way classes were structured. There were several other factors that made my experience in high school not terribly beloved, but it was mostly an intense dislike for the fact that I was only learning how to take tests. I had some amazing teachers, and was enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program, as well as extremely active in the school paper, but something still didn't click. It was in discussions that I thrived, and on quizzes that I struggled. After school I would procrastinate by reading non-fiction about the French Revolution and making collages using pictures from Vogue. To succeed, I feel one really has to love what they're doing. I didn't. And then, by some miracle, I received a letter from Shimer College.

In the meantime I had been considering going to Academy of Art University in San Fransisco to study fashion or the University of Oregon for Journalism. Both wouldn't be the worst paths for me, but I would be heading into four more years of an education style that had never worked before. Shimer stole my heart. Reading beautiful old texts? Discussion-based classes? I haven't gotten my heart back since!

Somedays it's hard to put down the latest copy of Harper's Bazaar to read Adam Smith, and I often struggle to log off of style.com in favor of Dostoevsky, but I think that's just the way school is, period. The difference between now and high school is that as soon as the magazine is down and the important text is in my hands, I am blissfully happy. Now I have to go read the Declaration of Independence for my Social Sciences class, but it was lovely meeting you. Have an absolutely incredible week!