Willa Bennett
Bio
Willa Bennett has dedicated her life to creating well-researched and informed media. She received two leadership awards in 2015 for her work with female adolescents, and is a globally published writer and poet. She is passionate about creating editorial, social, and video content that empowers teenagers around the world.
Social Media Platforms Need To Protect Their Queer Teen Users
By Willa BennettWhen I first discovered YouTube in the early 2000s, I was immediately drawn to videos of my peers coming out on social media. As a closeted teenager, I spent many evenings alone in my bedroom analyzing how my favorite online personalities opened up…
Liza Koshy Owns Who She Is & It's Changing The World
By Willa BennettHave you ever stumbled upon a photo of a celebrity and immediately wondered what they were thinking in that very moment? In Elite Daily’s series, I Can Explain…, we’re asking celebrities to revisit their most memorable photos and tell us exactly…
Kenzie Ziegler Is On The Rise & You Should Be Paying Attention
By Willa BennettMackenzie Ziegler is perched on a couch in the Elite Daily green room in what look like brand-new white leather Doc Martens. When I interrupt her texting to introduce myself, the 15-year-old gymnast, actress, dancer, and singer, Kenzie (as she's…
My Little Sister Came Out To Me & It Inspired Me To Come Out To Her
By Willa BennettThis time last year, my little sister came out to me as bisexual. It was on my way home from work. I stepped off the over-crowded Brooklyn-bound C train to a missed call from my 15-year-old sister. Although we have different mothers, she and I have…
Madelaine Petsch Stops For No One
By Willa BennettMadelaine Petsch’s Sweetgreen order is the first thing I learn about her: kale and arugula with red onions, carrots, cucumbers, local apples, lemon, and olive oil. I know this because at 8 a.m. on the day I am supposed to interview her, I am sent to…
Here's Why Coming Out Is More Complicated Than You Think, According To Someone Who's "Out"
By Willa BennettIn 2012, I came out for the first time in the comments section of a YouTube video. Half-asleep in bed, I analyzed coming out videos while quietly typing my own story below. With a single click, my identity had been given words — I could even see and…
I Swapped Phones With My Single Mom & We Swiped For Each Other On Tinder
By Willa BennettWhen my mother dropped me off for my freshman year of college, I was in a very serious relationship, hungry to experience the world with one person forever. However, almost two years later at age 19, I arrived back home in Los Angeles with my…
I Had A First Date On Valentine's Day & My Date Got A Nosebleed While We Kissed
By Willa Bennett"Let’s play the question game," I suggested as Dimitri and I sat down over pints of cider atop the Bristol Harbor. It had just stopped raining and my Vans were filled with water. It was our first date and it was Valentine's Day.
"Nice to meet you…
I Kissed A Stranger On New Year’s Eve At A Celebrity Pool Party
By Willa BennettNew Year's Eve in Los Angeles is almost exactly like you’d imagine, really. There are strobe lights, sparklers, and fireworks. There are girls in freshly-steamed suits jumping into salt-water pools. There are two (definitely not single) celebrities…
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I Turkey-Dumped My Boyfriend Over Thanksgiving & Don't Regret Being Single For Cuffing Season
By Willa BennettI still have the diary entry I wrote the day I used my fake ID to buy drinks for me and my high school boyfriend at a bar in Silver Lake, Los Angeles to celebrate our high SAT scores. "Can my life get any better than this? I’m in love and CLEARLY a…
