Sunday, January 2

2020 was a year full of restrictions, limitations, and setbacks. Sitting in the freshman dorms in the beginning of the fall semester, 3 girls from New Jersey and New York scrolled through Maize Pages, eager to find a way to get involved in the Michigan community. They felt frustrated that most writing publications were so limited in scope, as they wanted to be able to write about anything and everything. So they continued scrolling, waiting for that “aha!” moment of excitement, and as the pages went on, “the wheels began to turn”. They felt inspired and ambitious to create a club that covered all they wanted and more. And so, Hopelessly Yellow was born, January 1st, 2020, marking its official birthday. 

To Ryan Hammel, a sophomore majoring in Communications and Media, co-founder and co-editor in chief, Hopelessly Yellow goes beyond a platform or a blog. “It is a community of like-minded individuals, a mindset, a powerful culture of kindness, and a creative outlet”. Jordyn Axelrod, a sophomore in Stamps, co-founder and President of Creative & Design, stated “it’s a movement, a feeling, a community passionate about the little things and spreading positivity”. And to Melody Leibner, a sophomore majoring in Drama and minoring in Women and Gender Studies, co-founder and co-editor in chief, Hopelessly Yellow is a lifestyle, providing content that “highlights the good and copes with the bad”. Hopelessly Yellow fosters community and amplifies its positive aura through writing, art, music, and media.

Coming up with the name came naturally. The three co-founders felt an attachment to the energy that the color yellow exudes, even making lists of “yellow things”—“that really good song that hits so hard, that new drink to try at Starbucks, that hot shower, that long walk” as Jordyn describes. Her, Ryan, and Melody all knew that this color and the feelings associated with it had to be included in their brand to explore positivity and mental health. Yet, they also know that life isn’t just sunshine; not wanting to forget about the hopeless moments we all sometimes feel, they decided on the “Hopelessly” of Hopelessly Yellow to serve as a reminder that “even when life feels sad or hard, having a yellow mindset is everything”. 

Creating Hopelessly Yellow took time and effort. As Melody puts it, it was like a puzzle; “the pieces did not click right away”. Countless meetings and extensive time went into creating the HY content production, release, and marketing process. For Jordyn, a struggle is the balance between supporting her artistic team’s personal style, while staying on par with Hopelessly Yellow’s “classic sunset vibe and color palette”. With time, and trial and error, the co-founders are learning and ever-improving on these fronts. While excited for the future of HY, Ryan nods to the fact that with plans to go abroad, they soon will have to hand it off, and giving up their brand is scary. 

But with the hard and scary is also the proud and happy. After pouring their hearts and souls into the platform, Hopelessly Yellow has cultivated a following of over 1,000 community members in less than a year, and hearing people say it helps, betters, and inspires them have been some of the most rewarding moments to the co-founders. After six months of hard work and very little face-to-face interaction due to COVID, Melody’s proudest moment was the first full team meeting this fall; 65 members in the same room, all of whom felt the same beauty and connection to the club, was truly emotional. To writers Sabrina Sugg and Zoe Sinkford, the creativity that they are able to express is special and empowering. Zoe loves that club meetings encourage her to think outside the box, and that the team’s atmosphere provides so many amazing and different ideas all conceptualized in one place. For Abby Ratner, playlist producer, and undoubtedly many others, Hopelessly Yellow has given her a community that always encourages her to see the glass half full, and in the “fast-paced world that is college”, a platform to express herself, and decompress. 

As they have taken a moment to reflect on how far they have come, the co-founders are also eagerly anticipating the future of Hopelessly Yellow. They have a list of long term goals they are constantly working on, including mental health speakers, products, and services. “The beauty of our brand is that it is timeless, forever relevant”, Jordyn says. 

As Melody put it best, “A year ago I could have never imagined Hopelessly Yellow to be what it is today. Thinking back on all of the blood, sweat, and tears that the three of us put into our club was all because we really believed in our vision, but it brings me so much more joy to see how important HY has become to our community. Hopelessly Yellow is equally as much our followers as it is ours, and I can only thank and express my gratitude to everyone for reading, listening and loving Hopelessly Yellow as much as we do.”

If you want to be a part of Hopelessly Yellow, come see us at Winter Fest from 5-7 in the Union. Applications open January 10th. <3