My last semester as an undergrad I lived in an attic closet. It was quite small, and I had to walk through a big bedroom to get to my little nook. And the occupant of that bigger bedroom was a girl named Hallie Bateman.
Hallie fascinated me. She was charmingly messy, with a really loud laugh. She stayed up late doing things. One night, after several days of walking through her bedroom to get to mine and kind of making eye contact, I was studying in my room when I heard, through my cheap, plywood door:
“Hey Sara, do you want to…smoke*?”
*cannabis
And I did, so we did, and it was a most enchanted evening, the first of many to come. Thus began the miracle of my friendship with Hallie.
Hallie is a woman following her dream to the utmost. She blossomed into a successful illustrator in a few short years in New York City, illustrating and writing for The New Yorker and the New York Times Magazine, as well as receiving a commission from the Museum of Modern Art for a book. I’m so proud of her! She recently moved to LA to continue pursuing her artistic career. Here is a comic that really captures Hallie’s special, charming spirit:
Hallie really inspires me pursue my dreams wholeheartedly. I hope I see her again someday. Your vision, authenticity, creativity, and humor are gifts to the world.
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Images collected from Hallie’s website, Google searches, and my own personal collection.
