Elite Daily

Willa Bennett

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.

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…
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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…