The *Humble* Origin Story

Hi, my name is Anna and you’re probably wondering how you ended up on this site, quite possibly reading this very article. Here’s the deal: the story of the birth of The Young Eclectic is neither unique, nor interesting, but it’s my story, so I’m going to tell it.

Some people have loud and long dreams, dreams that consume them and push them forward toward their ultimate destiny in life. And if you’re the type of person that has a dream like this, man, you are lucky! Grab onto that dream and let it pull you toward whatever greatness you are sure to achieve, and don’t let go for anything (within reason!). 

My dream, on the other hand, started quietly. I always knew I wanted to write (hey, I’m still working on that novel!)- but what I wanted to write, I wasn’t too sure. So I went to college and chose possibly one of the safest, most dull paths I could have: Public Relations. And if you don’t know what that is, it’s basically advertising but without the money and glamour. It’s earning publicity for a client, often through writing things like press releases and setting up interviews and stuff like that. 

But this story isn’t about PR- it’s about The Young Eclectic.

I should preface this next part with this: I have always had the pipe dream to someday work in the fashion industry, spurred by my obsession with fashion magazines. So when we were asked to create a blog for my PR writing class, I knew exactly what I would cover. And so my first serious blogging project began: Startorial. A portmanteau of “star” and “sartorial,” a detail that was probably lost on most people. 

I posted to Startorial irregularly, never motivated to really keep going with it. I had no skin in the game, I had made no sacrifices. The blog was free to maintain and I used a free theme- I quite simply had nothing to lose by forgetting about it, so I did. 

However, my ill-maintained first attempt at blogging did do me one favor. It gave me the desire to carve my own space on the internet and see where it takes me. I even had the crazy idea to maybe try my hand at making my own fashion magazine someday! Call it a wild dream, but dreams start somewhere, as they did with Tavi Gevinson with Rookie Mag and Leandra Medine with Man Repeller.

So, back to the shower, because we’ve come this far and there has yet to be mention of the fateful shower that started it all. That’s because it’s the least interesting part of the story. We all know how it goes- Someone stands in their shower, maybe mindlessly singing a tune while lathering up, and suddenly gets an idea. Maybe not even a terrible idea. A quite good idea, perhaps worth thinking about once the faucet is turned off and you’re sitting in bed with your hair wrapped in a towel.

My idea was The Young Eclectic- a simple, easily pronounceable and memorable title that conveys what I would like it to- I’m a young, eclectic individual that wants to share her ideas with the world at large, whoever that may be! I took the plunge, finally bought my own domain and started this crazy process of actually doing something and sticking with it, figuring I might actually be able to pull this off now that I’ve graduated college and have a much more stable life schedule.  

So, what should you expect from this blog (dare I say… *magazine*)? Expect to see a lot of fashion, pop culture musings, rants, reviews, some art, some photos and a whole lotta nonsense!

If that sounds good to you, then welcome! And I’ll see you around.

~Anna