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Stephanie Hayes - Columnist

Columnist

Please buckle in for a glamorous journalism biography. I left my job at a mall CD store to work here at 19, distributing faxes and running to Publix to pick up cakes for real reporters. Upon being the last warm body in the office, I got to write actual stories. The rest has been a wonderful journey. I'm now a columnist, writing on the proverbial "lighter side of life" and giving side-eye to Florida. Starting in 2021, my columns will be syndicated worldwide via Creators Syndicate. Before this, I was an editor overseeing arts and culture coverage. As a reporter, I’ve covered local governments, higher education, nightlife, obituaries and performing arts. How's that for variety? I'm a stepmom, fledgling novelist, amateur makeup artist and avid host of parties with too much food. Find me in Dunedin, coolest town in Florida.

  1. Check your fitness rings! It looks like you’ve been frozen in a state of overwhelm for the past 16 hours and are spiraling into an emotional pit of despair from which you will not emerge unless you make at least one meager attempt to move your body!
  2. Tampa Bay Times reporters Gabrielle Calise and Helen Freund feel alive at Lassing Park in St. Petersburg.
  3. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a tour at North Baptist Church in Spartanburg on Wednesday April 19, 2023.
  4. Gibbs High School graduates are pictured during commencement ceremonies at Tropicana Field, Monday, May 15, 2023 in St. Petersburg.
  5. Is 72 the perfect Florida thermostat temperature? Are you a bog witch? Discuss.
  6. Why only appreciate teachers one week a year? Support should be a default when it comes to those guiding our youth through both quadratic functions and a variety of hormonal meltdowns.
  7. Have tips gotten out of hand? Let's explore.
  8. Bed Bath & Beyond is going through bankruptcy and several South Florida stores have already closed.
  9. Miss Koro of St. Petersburg displays a sign and cheers when speeches are given during the Drag Queen’s March at Cascades Park on Tuesday in Tallahassee.
  10. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a news conference at the Reedy Creek Administration Building on Monday in Lake Buena Vista.
  11. Natasha Shirer, on left, Tina Gudovic and Katherine Zervoudakis, all 17 and all juniors in the IB program at Palm Harbor University High School, hold their copies of the Toni Morrison novel "The Bluest Eye" while getting their picture made at the end of the Pinellas County School Board meeting, at 301 4TH St. SW on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023 in Largo.
  12. Best friends Laura Tannehill, Kathleen Gibbs, Denise Prost, Monica Dunavan and Karen Nemec of St. Louis, Missouri, enjoy a ride on the Clearwater Jolley Trolley’s Brew Crawl on Sunday.
  13. Rachel McAdams and Abby Ryder Fortson in "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret."
  14. Dahlia the Corgi poses while her owners, Skye Tonnesen and Chris Scott, enjoy the weather at the Davis Island Dog Beach in Tampa in 2022.
  15. Taylor Swift reacts after finishing a song during her first sold-out concert of three nights at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on March 31.
  16. U.S. deputy marshals escort 6-year-old Ruby Bridges from William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans in this November 1960 file photo.
  17. Collectors go through and find stamps for their collections at the St. Pete Stamp Club on March 25 in St. Petersburg.
  18. Michelangelo's "David."
  19. Fans tailgate and mingle ahead of a Bucs game against the Dallas Cowboys near Bucs Beach on Jan. 16 in Tampa.
  20. Welcome back! Did you miss them?
  21. The Kool-Aid Man, who raised us.
  22. People wait to claim their luggage at Tampa International Airport on Thursday.
  23. The Florida Legislature getting to work.