Hello my beautiful Hot Literatis. I'm very excited to be sharing this post today, because I think it's something that took me SO long to learn but really changed my life and my relationship with myself. I'm a very loving person. I do this thing, where I want to give everything I have to everybody I meet, but then this creates self-resentment and self-betrayal when you have none of yourself left for the things you want to do or the person you want to become. In addition to bei

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Lately I've been thinking a lot about college students I've met and recent grads adjusting to adult life. I myself am not super far past twenty-two, so I remember all of the feelings of being 22/23. What I have to say today, I think is not only important, but life-changing. You can't just go through the motions in your life. Me in bed reading my Bible (I love writing in bed)

On July 18th, 2026 I, hailo, went to a literary party. As I write this, I am drinking coffee on the couch and intermittently reading The Idiot. I'm on page 407. The New Critic is a literary magazine founded by some recent Ivy League grads looking to create a space where Gen Z can write anything, unfiltered. They rented a really beautiful space south of Seward Park and gathered a room of their subscribers for a night of music and an open bar. I went, saw a couple of friends, a

On Sunday, July 12th I, hailo, went to the Whitney to see the Biennial. The first time I ever heard about the Whitney Biennial was through an artist I used to date. A piece he was working on was being considered. An "almost" is what he was left with, I think. I didn't plan on going to the Whitney that day, but I'd just left everyone's favorite social club in the meatpacking district (I wanted to read in the pool, which I did for a bit until one of my girlfriends saw me and in

Plus Steamed Chicken, La Cabra, & my DMs are closed (unless you are a brand or an invitation) hello party girls I don't check Hot Literati's DMs very much because I've been prioritizing engaging with members on the website-- members who post, come to book club, and more. But I did check them briefly today. Being a niche-internet celebrity is sometimes fun and sometimes very confusing. I will occasionally receive DMs of people who saw me in target and think I'm shorter than th

I love Wichita. It is my hometown and is the reason I am who I am in many ways. However, every time I come home I remember why I keep leaving. Wichita has a slight problem with the diversification of its economy-- a problem that business and community leaders and tackling head on. For an ambitious, creative young adult, opportunities are pretty sparse. But more importantly, I think that Wichita has an infrastructure problem with its transit. I enjoy bigger cities like New Yor

On July 6th, 2026 I, hailo, headed to downtown Wichita to visit NICHE's Culinary School. Photo by Kevin Colborn Niche is a part of Wichita State's Technical School, training the next generation of chefs, restaurant operators, and others suited to disrupt the hospitality industry. Hospitality is an industry close to my heart--in DECA competitions as a teenager, I always competed in hospitality events, and I spent two years in New York working for a very exciting restaurant-tec

or, Why I'm going to make Wichita walkable When you are a Child ,in school they will show you videos of people like Martin Luther king jr and Albert Einstein and tell you that you can change the world. When you are an adult and you say that you want to change the world they will tell you that you are crazy and that it is not possible. In order to do anything new, you have to be a little crazy. I do not enjoy watching TV (except the History Channel). Overall, I have a hard tim

On July 30th, 2026 I, hailo, went to Church. I went to the big Church on Bowery for the launch of Kismet's latest issue. Photo by Chris Jesu Lee I had walked by the church and eyed it for a very long time. It is beautiful, the way big churches are. Kismet is a literary magazine that explores spirituality in a contemporary lens. I brought my friend Chris with me. He Is a dear friend and a fellow writer. You should checkout his substack, Salieri Redemption. We saw some other fr

Hello I am Hailey Denise Colborn, but a lot of people call me "hailo." I was born in Wichita, Kansas. I've been in New York for around four years, though long-term I'd like to split my time between Kansas, New York, and France. I'm a retired beauty queen and I identify as quiet. I like speaking slowly and looking at things for a very long time. Musts The Bible Dostoevsky Monthly self-evaluations Armani Luminous Cheek tint Cardio Loves Jesus Kissing Solo karaoke Early mornings

It's May. One of those balmy days, quite warm with raindrops speckled throughout the day. I'm walking down Orchard St, coming up from Grand and I see him, sitting outside. Erwin, with his strong, kind face, looking down at his phone. So I sneak up really quiet and drop into the chair in front of him. "Hello!" I say. He laughs. I laugh... "You know, I always remember you," he says, taking off his phone case to reveal a Hot Literati sticker. We grow up in a lot of places. If we

Tonight I went to the box for the first time. The first time I heard about the box was from a classmate in my eating club back in 2022 after they attended a party there with a former mayor, lots of models, and other A-list sorts. That world felt so glamorous and aloof to me and a year later that same friend would bring me into their world here in New York and I would begin writing about clubbing online and begin accquiring an audience and something like momentum. An open bar