There is a belief that a lot can be gleaned from a person’s character by who they were in their formative years; particularly while attending university/college.
Were they a bookworm nerd; or were they a party animal?
Were they focused more on their studies; or were they mostly focused on dating?
Who were they then? What inspired them while attending school?
With so many fake and negative stories being written about Duchess Meghan by the British (UK) media/tabloids based on questionable unidentified sources, who likely don’t have the best motives; now more than ever it’s important to look at Meghan’s life and character BEFORE she fell in love with Prince Harry and became a Duchess. It is this writer’s assertion that Meghan hasn’t changed; because who she was BEFORE becoming a ROYAL, is who she is NOW.
Meghan’s well documented past behavioural record(s) can be used as a STANDARD to measure against anything now being published or reported about her. Unfortunately, the UK media/tabloids have had a long recorded history of questionable published articles. The European Broadcasting Union found UK newspapers to be the least trusted in the EU 28 countries in a 2017 survey, on the level of trust responders had to the written press.
Keeping in mind the UK media’s issues with integrity and trustworthiness, the reader can evaluate and determine if their current characterization of Meghan aligns with the character depictions of her PRIOR to marriage. Duchess Meghan has been married for less than a year, and in that period of time the UK media has reported traits observed by anonymous sources that contradict on-the-record sources’ recollections of her before she became a member of the British Royal Family.
Is the reporting on Duchess Meghan truthful or is it filled with mistruths in order to sell newspapers while sullying her character in the process? Looking at Meghan’s past will help determine what weight (if any) should be given to the negative reports about her by the UK media/tabloids nowadays.
For all of these reasons, I will quote several excerpts from a May 2018 Chicago Tribune article, which focused on who Meghan was as a young woman while attending Chicago’s prestigious Northwestern University.
As excerpted from May 2018 Chicago Tribune article titled “Meghan Markle Recalled As Dignified, Charitable During Her Northwestern Days”
“The Tribune reached out to more than 140 of Markle’s sorority sisters, from her class and two classes before and after her, to get more insight into her college life. Most of the women did not respond to the request for comment. Some of those who politely declined to be interviewed offered that Markle “always seemed lovely,” “was always very kind,” “is a delightful person,” “is a lovely person” and “is a truly wonderful person.”
“In January 2000 she took part in the Panhellenic recruitment process, which involved visiting the various sorority chapters to see which one would be the best fit. She immediately impressed.
“We just wanted to be sure that we secured her interest in our sorority,” said Coulter Bump, an education law attorney in Colorado and Kappa Kappa Gamma member who graduated a year before Markle. “Myself and most of my sisters agreed that she just is a really lovely person. She is respectful and polite. She always had this manner to her of being dignified and poised, just very appropriate in every circumstance. A person like that is what I wanted to ensure we had in our house and luckily, she liked us back.”
“Graham said she got to know Markle through community service. They both volunteered with the Glass Slipper Project, an organization that collects donated dresses for teens who are unable to buy their own prom attire. Graham said they also painted homes for Habitat for Humanity. Years later, Markle’s charity work would include traveling to Rwanda with World Vision to help with a clean water campaign.”
“She lived down the hall from Graham in the multistory Kappa Kappa Gamma house their junior year.
“That house was so beautiful. I’ll never live in a house that beautiful again. I guess none of us except Meg will live in a house that beautiful again,” said Graham, a Chicago-based publicist and owner of Liz Kores Public Relations. “There was a cooking staff, and there was a house mom, who was hilarious.”
“Graham said Markle lived in one of the house’s “tiny” single rooms that could fit a twin-sized bed, a desk and a small wardrobe. One of the reasons she got her own space is that she served as the recruitment chairwoman, which involved welcoming potential members into the house and keeping track of them during rush.”
“A sorority sister who graduated a year after Markle and asked not to be named said rush “could be a really intimidating process, and Kappa is one of the best houses on campus, and so I think a lot of girls would get quite nervous. … But she was always very, very keen to make it as warm and welcoming as she could.”
Graham said Markle was diplomatic as she navigated conflict in the sorority house. She often dispensed fashion advice and once showed Graham how to put on mascara (“get really close to the base and then like wiggle the brush out”).”
“Markle left campus for a few months after her junior year. She interned at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires and considered a career in politics. She then headed to Madrid in September 2002 as part of a three-month program offered by IES Abroad, a Chicago-based study abroad organization.
She took five courses, the majority of which were taught in Spanish, and stayed with a host family. Javier Martinez de Velasco, who was the IES Abroad Madrid Center director at the time, recalled discussing the Madrid theater scene with Markle and described her as “always pleasant, intelligent and articulate.”
“When Markle returned to Northwestern, her schedule included a course about works by African-American playwrights taught by Harvey Young, who was new to Northwestern at the time.
Young and his eight students sat in a circle in spring 2003 and discussed plays including “Dutchman” and “Color Struck.” Young recalled talking with Markle during his office hours about her experiences being a biracial woman and the challenges of being fully embraced in certain communities.
“The fact that a person who’s 21 could have such experiences around race, and such an awareness of what it means to be biracial or a raced person, really stuck with me,” said Young, who is now the dean of the College of Fine Arts at Boston University.”
“Our group of friends kept in touch. Meg came back to Chicago a handful of times, and we’d see her. It was always fun to sort of track what she was doing next. We all went to the theater when she was in that ‘A Lot Like Love’ movie,” Graham said. “It was so exciting. We were so pumped to just see somebody make it.” ~ Chicago Tribune – May 2018
https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chicagoinc/ct-ent-meghan-markle-northwestern-20180509-story.html
This article provides insight into Meghan’s character, when she attended Northwestern University. Its content provides collaborative evidence of Meghan’s personality from various sources that interacted with, knew, or were acquainted with her.
Meghan “immediately impressed.”
Meghan is “a really lovely person.”
Meghan is “respectful and polite.”
Meghan “always had this manner to her of being dignified and poised, just very appropriate in every circumstance.”
Meghan was a “recruitment chairwoman for Kappa Kappa Gamma House during her junior year, which involved welcoming potential members into the house and keeping track of them during rush.”
While Meghan was the chairwoman of the house, her character made a positive impression:
“A sorority sister who graduated a year after Markle and asked not to be named said rush “could be a really intimidating process, and Kappa is one of the best houses on campus, and so I think a lot of girls would get quite nervous. … But she was always very, very keen to make it as warm and welcoming as she could.”
Note the sentiments that described Meghan as a person who was “very, very keen” to make people feel as warm and welcomed as she could. These opinions substantiate other people’s observations of Meghan’s kind-heartedness exhibited during her adult professional years before she met and married Prince Harry.
Meghan even undertook charity work for an organization whose objectives closely resemble those of Smart Works, which is one of her just announced patronages. While at Northwestern University, Meghan volunteered for the “Glass Slipper Project, a non-profit organization that collects donated dresses for teens, who are unable to buy their own prom attire.” The organization seeks to make young girls, who couldn’t afford a dress for their prom, feel like princesses.
I assume the organization’s name is a reference to the fairy tale Cinderella making it amusingly prophetic since Meghan went on to meet and fall in love with the real life version of the fairy tale prince; a sign that kindness really does win in the end.
The picture painted by those, who actually knew and worked with Meghan while at Northwestern University, illustrates a different image than the raging “Duchess Difficult” narrative currently being peddled by the UK media/tabloids. The UK media/tabloids’ narrative often portrays Duchess Meghan as a mean and petty b****, who insensitively made Duchess Kate cry.
Sorry British media/tabloids, but your narrative about Meghan doesn’t add up to the REAL Meghan, as told by those who really know or knew her over the years.
Furthermore, there is no rational explanation for the many bizarre stories that disclose the Duchess negatively in the media. I think we can all conclude based on Meghan’s past record, and also based on the less than truthful past record of the UK media/tabloids, that the negative stories being reported about Meghan depicting her as a difficult and insensitive shrew are 100% false.
Considering the horrible way the British media/tabloids treated Harry’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, now more than ever we have to hold the British media accountable for what it reports about Duchess Meghan. We (the public) should challenge anything, which does not square with the truth we know about her.
Duchess Meghan is not perfect nor is she above criticism; NO ONE IS. This is not about not wanting anything negative reported about Duchess Meghan. If there is factual negative story or stories to report, then they should be reported. This is about making sure that whatever is being reported about her, particularly if it paints her in a bad or negative light, is based on the TRUTH, not unnamed or anonymous palace or other secret sources; when we have no idea of the accuracy or the true motivations or intentions of said sources.
