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.

Kenzie Ziegler Is On The Rise & You Should Be Paying Attention

By Willa Bennett

Mackenzie 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 Bennett

This 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 Bennett

Madelaine 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 Bennett

In 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 Bennett

When 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 Bennett

New 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…

I Turkey-Dumped My Boyfriend Over Thanksgiving & Don't Regret Being Single For Cuffing Season

By Willa Bennett

I 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…