Staff

Alissa Medina/ Founder and Editor-in-Chief/Beauty & Fashion,Culture editor

E-mail Alissa at EIC@ReasonstoBeBeautiful.com

At a young age I fell in love with magazines, flipping through any Vogue, Seventeen, and Glamor issues I could get my grubby hands on. As I have grown older, I have realized that none have come close to the young female psyche – until now. I’ve dedicated the past five years of my life to journalism, and continue to strive for excellence in both writing and design everyday. I often enjoy working various journalism internships and consistently read quotes and poetry that inspire me. My favorite being the works of Emily Bronte and Sylvia Plath. As an English major, I enjoy the written word as much as a cup of coffee or art. I’m secretly obsessed with the Kardashians, spicy Ramen, and diet coke. I’ve been told too many times that I am too young to make a difference – yet, who is stopping me? Feel free to e-mail me or follow my personal tumblr at missalissa.tumblr.com to get a glimpse of my inner workings.

 

 

Stephanie Watson/ Co-Editor-in-Chief/Lifestyle & Dating editor

E-mail Stephanie at CoEIC@ReasonstoBeBeautiful.com

I was born and raised in the place that defines unpredictable weather: Scotland. I have lived all 21 years of my life in creativity. As a young child I was interested in drawing and painting but over the years I found a new love – writing – and now here I am editing for Reasons To Be Beautiful which is a very exciting process!
For years I had trouble defining who I was and who I could be, but a few years ago I pushed myself harder than I could ever have imagined and managed to finally discover who I am. With the aid of strong motivation and loads of hard work, I now know how to get where I want to be. Due to this evolution I went through, I decided I wanted to pass on my perspective of life to the readers of this magazine. Here I am ready to share every issue of life I can.
In my spare time I’m an avid reader,a movie buff, and gamer. Yet, my number one activity to do is writing; it’s been my dream from an early age to get my novels published. One day I’ll make that happen.
Feel free to ask me any questions you have!

 

 

Past Editors

Ruthie Sidell/Publicity Manager

I was born June 21, 1995 in Los Angeles, California. I grew up in Atlanta with a loving family and a passion for journalism. I am blessed and grateful to have such strong supporters in my life who help me accomplish my upmost desires. Ever since my days in The Valley, I have absolutely loved writing. Turning my unique thoughts, and creative ideas into words help me express myself and relieve any fear, stress, or worry I may be having. I’ve always thought good writing should be shared with the world, and that readers should appreciate strong ideas being presented to them. Reasons to be Beautiful sends an amazing message to women of all shapes, sizes, and age. This message not only should be but deserves to be publicized. Publicity is very important when it comes to the broadening of a paper or magazine. I will work hard to make Reasons to be Beautiful a well known magazine, for every woman should feel beautiful in their own skin. In memory of my aunt, Susan Forrest, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for investigative journalism, I will reach for the stars and continue to balance high school and the fast paced world of journalism and publicity in the absolute best way I can.

Hailing from the sunny island of Singapore, I enjoy exploring and finding out more about various cultures and traditions. I think this is because I’m largely influenced by my family, especially my mother; She taught me the importance and value of Chinese culture, history and traditions, as well as the little bits of information in regards to the Malay and Indian culture she learned back in her younger days (she grew up in a village in Malaysia back in the days). Slowly, I started to take interest in learning about the various cultures around the world, especially of those in Asia, where I come from.
I am also a frequent music listener (especially Korean-pop), and enjoy watching movies and reading in my free time. These ultimately spurred my interest in the entertainment field; I aspire to become either a magazine editor, scriptwriter or a TV program director in the future.
I’m mostly spontaneous and open to many ideas, old and new alike, and I love it when people give me feedback. Feel free to talk to me just about anything

 

In the 2nd grade, I started writing with a poem about cleaning my room and I haven’t been able to stop writing since. Raised in Northern California, I am now in my last year of studying Literature at the University of California at Santa Barbara. I divide my time between the classroom, working and trying to fit in as much time at the beach as I can. I’m fairly mellow and my favorite things include yoga, fancy desserts, and curling up on the couch with a good movie. Working as the Dating & Relationships Editor at Reasons to be Beautiful Magazine is such a pleasure for me because I love to talk about dating, relationships, and sex. I think having an honest and open dialogue is so important for women today, so feel free to ask me any questions you have about me or my work! Recommendations and thoughts about the dating section are always welcome.

Past Editors for the Spring and Summer 2011 Internship

 

Currently living in my birthplace of Paisley , Scotland. In my mid-teens I made the decision to leave high school and pursue higher education which is how my love affair with photography came about. When I first began learning photography, my brother bought me my first camera and I shot everything in film. I  loved the development process,  spending hours in the dark room until digital cameras made film obsolete, negatives became RAW files and the dark room got replaced by Photoshop 7 which I have evolved from yet again to CS5. I have since graduated from all the possible years at college and am a professional photographer. I currently work with Nikon kit and hope to upgrade in the near future to a newer model . Photographers that inspire me are Rankin, David Eustace, Brian Sweeney, Annie Lebovitz, Chris Leslie, Mark Segar – these are some well-known names but I also admire the work of my lecturers and classmates. Aside being a workaholic and photographer in my spare time I enjoy reading, anything by P.C Cast and George R.R Martin. I love anything fantasy related. If you have any questions please feel free to ask me anything at all!

 

 

I was born and raised in the busy city of Toronto, Ontario. I grew up in a family full of strong, wonderful women who I have found myself looking up to my entire life. My Mother, who is also a writer, and my Grandmother were never caught without a book in their hands and I owe my love of books and words to them. I strive to reach my goals and make my dreams come true and have accomplished much of what I was always told would not be possible for me. I went through a social work program in college and I am now going to school for fine art. I believe that everyone in the world is capable of making a positive difference and I work hard to try and do so myself. Reasons to be Beautiful is a great outlet for this among other workings. I believe that everything can be made the best of and I am excited to be a part of this wonderful community. When I am not working I like to draw, paint, spend time with my loved ones, write, work on my books, read, play PC and online games, and play cards ( playing cards and Magic: The Gathering), and of course watch television and movies (I am a huge horror movie fan). I am definitely a gamer and like to spend any time I can playing on various systems and games. I’m a fun loving and caring person and I love to chat! Don’t hesitate to contact me.