October 2023 Newsletter
New Exciting Things
Nothing is equally more stressful and more exciting than whenever we announce new openings at Overachiever Magazine. I love getting to meet other amazing Overachievers who each have unique passions and talents, and then apply to Overachiever Magazine in hopes of growing their skills and building community. The New Era at OM was an opportunity for me to create exciting new positions that have never been offered before, and after a month of reviewing applications and interviewing candidates, I’m thrilled to introduce our Fall ‘23 cohort of Overachievers!
Brooke Hines - Editorial Coordinator
Daphne Yuan - Section Editor (Being)
Patricia Agtarap - Section Editor (Media)
Rome Lim - Section Editor (Yours Truly)
Madina Tuleshova - Section Editor (Opinions)
Aerin Fortes - Copyeditor
Linh Ly and Srabondeya Haldar - Section Writers (World)
Alexa Empleo and Chloe Trinidad - Section Writers (Media)
Elizabeth Lu - Editorial Intern
Welcome all to Overachiever Magazine! Thank you again for wanting to contribute your skills, talents, and time to growing our online community. We’re so excited to have you all on board for the New Era we’re about to embark on. I hope that you will find the time to explore some of the recent updates to our website—we have new sections, pages, projects, and even more new exciting things in development right now that I’ve highlighted in this newsletter.
The best way to stay in the loop is to follow us on Instagram @overachievermagazine, sign up for our newsletter, check our website often, or join our team next time around for insider updates about all of the new and exciting things that are happening at Overachiever Magazine.
October Prompts
If you missed the September deadline, that’s totally okay because we’ll be accepting submissions all season long! We’re slowing the pace at Overachiever Magazine with new quarterly issues, allowing ourselves the full season to reflect on our theme. This season, we’re celebrating the New Era of OM by starting new journals and listening to a ton of Taylor Swift to be inspired by a lifetime of beautiful and painful lessons to explore every version of ourselves, in our own words.
For October, we’re shifting to a more Antihero vibe. Like what was your honest reaction to listening to Antihero by Taylor Swift? Did you realize something new about yourself? How does your perspective change when you become the Antihero of your own life story? And how many times did you listen to the song on repeat?
We are accepting submissions for the New Era Issue from September 1st through December 23rd.
To learn more, please visit our Submit Your Work page.
In Development
We have a few new developments underway during the New Era Issue:
World Section
Stop Asian Hate: We see it on the news, we scroll past it on our feeds, we hear about it from others - yet, it doesn’t seem to be clear enough. Stop Asian Hate! Sometimes, the crime alerts that are broadcasted across the media are harmful or perpetuate violence towards Asian women, so I think it’s important for us to create a space on OM that is dedicated to speaking out on this issue.
Travel: Have you traveled anywhere exciting recently? Share some photos of where you went and tell us what you were inspired by. What are some travel tips you’d recommend? What went well? What would you do differently next time? Wherever in the world you are, we’d love to hear from you in our new Travel Section!
Media Section
Pop Culture: So we have a section for Music and Film in the Media Section, but what about the rest of pop culture? We’re creating a space for celebrities, fashion, and all other pop culture happenings.
Podcast: We’ve been brainstorming and contemplating an Overachiever Podcast for a while now. It’s pretty straightforward to talk into a phone and record a podcast if it were just me talking, but I’d like to set things up on my end so that I can invite guest speakers in the future and record online conversations much more simply. Looking forward to listening to Overachiever behind-the-scenes and other Asian American Millennial things? That’s what the podcast will most likely start as.
Yours Truly
Creators Club: We want to partner with AANHPI creatives across the internet to showcase a variety of talented artists, photographers, and video makers in the Overachiever community. We want to give your work a shoutout on our platform and we hope you’ll give us one as well 😊
Advice: I used to read a ton of fashion and life magazines when I was seventeen, but then there were a lot of difficult lessons that I learned the hard way. From topics like navigating college, early careers, cultural identity, mental health - and so much more - the new Advice Section is here for you so hopefully you won’t have to make the same mistakes I made. Ask questions that will be answered by the Section Editor or Editor in Chief. All advice is autobiographical, so maybe take it with a grain of salt.
New Features
Letters to the Editor: We’re excited to launch our new Opinion Section. This section will provide the opportunity for our readers to discuss their 350 word stance on a wide range of topics about AANHPI culture, entertainment, life, and other social issues faced within our community—without the pressure of writing a full piece.
Virtual Town Halls: We’re still in the development stages of creating our new Virtual Town Hall series. We want to create webinar opportunities ideal for AANHPI professionals and graduate students in a safe space for our speakers to share their passions with others. This project is hopeful to launch in November.
I’m not sure when all of these developments will be complete, but please check back often for more updates and I hope that you will consider contributing to one of our new Sections!
The Antihero Halloween Party
Again, welcome to the New Era! This is a great opportunity for you to ask questions, pitch ideas, and listen to Taylor Swift with us! Join us for a good half hour of brainstorming, journaling, and community building if you are able to attend. This event is for Overachievers only—OM staff and prospective contributors who want to learn more about the New Era Issue.
October 31st 2023 at 5pm pst
Via Zoom
Prospective contributors must reach out to us through our Contact Page to request the link.
Stay tuned for more new and exciting things!