In our final Amplify of 2022, we have a little surprise interview! In this Amplify Special, I sat down with Ashlee Zillmer, the original Amplify columnist. We played an Amplifying game, and we talked about our favorite posts and amplifiers and how Amplify came to be.

First, a little introduction: Ashlee currently lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she enjoys volunteering with Prevention Point Pittsburgh and doing digital yoga. Now, she’s working on her fertility awareness educator certification in order to help menstruating people learn more about their body’s unique cycle, and to provide non-hormonal birth control options. You’ll hear more about her fantastic work at the end of the interview.

Note: Please excuse the choppy audio and go to this link for the full transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s7JknTvdvUQ0bBDptONzI3k1O_YoGdom5OidJLAcJv4/edit?usp=sharing.

You can follow Ashlee at @hellocervix on Instagram to join her on her fertility awareness journey.

This is my last Amplify piece; a little thanks are in order. First, thank you to Ashlee for starting this fantastic column; Amplify wouldn’t be where it’s at without you. Second, thank you to our Fearless Leader Julia, without whom HerStry—and therefore Amplify—would not be here today. Thank you for building a community for womxn to uplift and amplify each other. Thank you for allowing me to write, research, share, and learn about many womxn worldwide. I’m forever grateful. Thank you to every HerStry staff and intern; you’re amazing.

To my lovely editors:

Thank you, Priyanka Moorjani, my first editor, for starting this journey with me and saying yes to everything.

Thank you, Selena Raygoza, for stepping in to help as a guest editor; you complete me.

And to the loveliest Sophia Ellinas, thank you for believing in my random ideas, editing all the amplified pieces, and helping with all the creative changes and works that came with creating every piece. I want to be like you when I grow up.

To our dearest readers:

Thank you for taking the time to read and share Amplify and HerStry. I’m grateful to you. I wish you nothing but the best. I hope you take it with you into the next year.

These few lines are from British singer-songwriter Laura Mvula’s “I Don’t Know What the Weather Will Be”: 

I don’t know what the weather will be

Whether we’ll see on tomorrow

But if today is all I have to believe, I give to you

Do what you want to

I don’t know what the future holds for you, reader, but I hope that you take it upon yourself to live life to the fullest and allow yourself to do what you want to. I also hope that you remember to Amplify those around you, as well as yourself.

Joycelyn lives in Cypress, Texas. She’s the daughter of immigrants and did not go to law school, but she received three degrees (BA, MA, MPH) and is happily freelancing and working in the nonprofit world. She enjoys writing about healthcare recruitment and even worked as a Healthcare Organizer. When she’s not writing, she’s transcribing, developing community toolkits, and researching womxn’s history. Which is why she’s excited about writing for AMPLIFY. On her off days, she spends her time on Twitter, reminding everyone to drink water and enabling others to watch more dramas. Follow her on Twitter: @jg_humanitarian