This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Bristol chapter.
Rachel Hosie is an award winning blogger, internship enthusiast and Modern Languages undergraduate at Bristol University. Her blog ‘Handbags And Cupcakes‘ has won a string of awards, and was voted ‘Highly Commended Best Lifestyle Blog’ in the Cosmo Blog Awards 2013, in addition to being a finalist in ‘Retail And Fashion’, ‘Food And Drink’, and ‘Young Person’s Blog Award’ categories in the National UK Blog Awards this year! Rachel is currently in Brussels on her year abroad, working as a media assistant for the BBC, where she hopes to one day have a career. In addition to keeping up her blog, travelling around Europe on her year abroad and securing high profile internships, Rachel writes regular articles for the Huffington Post and Inter:Mission about food and university life.
What made you decide to start up your blog?
During my school days I thought I wanted to be a fashion journalist and I’d been inspired by blogs like ‘Liberty London Girl’. I’d known for a long time that I wanted to go into the media, so starting a blog seemed like a good thing to do to practice my writing, regardless of whether anyone read it or not. I actually had another blog before my current one but I never really got into it, and I think that’s actually quite common.
What kind of challenges did you encounter?
I think when starting out one of the hardest parts can be finding your voice and your niche – my blog has certainly evolved over the years – and often you don’t really know what type of blog yours will be until you get going. That can make it particularly challenging to think of a name – I’m fairly sure the majority of bloggers aren’t happy with their blog name! When I named mine ‘Handbags and Cupcakes’ I hadn’t actually heard of the very well-known blog, ‘Cupcakes and Cashmere’, and I realise it now probably looks like I completely copied her.
Another challenge a lot of bloggers face in the early days is the frustration of how to grow your audience. I’m no expert but it seems to me it just takes time to build up a following and that can be frustrating for the impatient among us! I think one of the trickiest parts now is deciding how much time I can afford to devote to my blog. I could easily spend hours on it everyday, but I have to remember my degree has to be the priority and as a full-time intern at the moment who’s simultaneously trying to write two Uni essays, blogging unfortunately can’t be the top priority.
A lot of people hesitate to put their work out there on a global platform, what advice would you give them?
Just go for it! It’s so normal now to have a blog and the blogging community is really supportive so I don’t think you should let the fear of criticism hold you back.
What would ultimately be your dream job?
I’m still trying to work that one out I think… As a little girl watching the News At Ten in her pyjamas, in the kitchen with her parents before bed, I would always dream of saying “Rachel Hosie, BBC News”, and I suppose being a correspondent or news reader on a national news broadcast would still be a dream. However, I do love writing and at the same time would love to be a features writer or – if I really dare to dream – the editor of a national publication. I’ve really caught the travel bug on my year abroad so if I could get a job that allowed me to see the world that would be amazing. Basically, I’ve always been really jealous of people who get to do cool things, meet interesting people and visit new places and then write about them for a living. So really, I have lots of dream jobs and that’s the problem: I just want to do everything!
What inspires you?
Everything! Career-wise, I’ve been very inspired by the people I’ve met and had the good fortune to work alongside on my internships. Actually meeting people and hearing about how they got where they are is a great way to get motivated, I find.
Do you have any female role models?
So many! I have a really long list actually, both of women I know and ones whose careers I’ve admired from afar. And of course, my mum.
Is there any advice you would give to students on how to make the most out of their university experience?
Get involved! Our university years are probably the last time we’re going to have all these interesting activities laid out on a plate for us. Join societies, get involved in theatre, apply for a society committee, try writing for student media, join a sports team or even just check out one of the many weird and wonderful societies Bristol has. Not only will you probably regret it if you don’t but I think future employers like to see that students are interested, well-rounded people.
What have you enjoyed the most about being at Bristol?
That’s a hard question. Obviously it’s a fabulous city and I’ve missed it so much over my year abroad. I love that the students are a big part of Bristol without completely taking over. There are high standards at Bristol which I think is great, and we’re absolutely spoilt for choice when it comes to societies and things to get involved with. I think what I’ve liked most is trying new things and making new friends with great people through doing so.