For our “X Questions With” series, we’re speaking with talented individuals from around the world who have inspired us with their creativity and passion. If you have a story to tell or someone you’d like to see profiled, let us know in the comments or on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter!
Today, we’re chatting with Sarah Dickinson, a bubbly and outgoing lifestyle blogger from the UK. Check out what Sarah has to say about following your passions and building up the people around you.
1) Please tell us a little about yourself
Name: Sarah Dickinson
Age: 32
Education: I went to Uni although sometimes I wish I hadn’t!
Occupation: Trainee Groom!
Creative Works: My Blog: Writing Rambling!
City: I’m from Lincolnshire which is on the East Coast of England!
Places: I travelled to Australia in 2013–2014. I absolutely loved it and want to go back!! I’ve travelled to the USA 3 times, been to a few places in Europe but I really want to do a big tour of it someday! I’ve been to Crete, Italy, Hong Kong, Venice, France, Paris, Bruges, Cyprus (twice), Barcelona… too many places to mention but I have severe #wanderlust so it’ll not be too long before I’m off again!
Passions: I love to read and have read 11 books already this year!! I am a huge culture vulture and love going round museums/art galleries soaking it all up. This fits in really well with my #wanderlust because I love nothing better than immersing myself in another culture and learning as much as I can about it! I’m a big film fan and love going to the cinema to watch a new release! The Harry Potter series is by far my favourite although I am waiting to go and see the new Jungle Book film!!
Favourite Quotes:
“20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour and catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
– Mark Twain
“A ship is safe in the harbour but that’s not what they were built for.”
– John A. Shedd
Winnie the Pooh also has words of wisdom:
“What day is it?” Asked Pooh. “Today!” squealed Piglet. “Oh that’s my favourite day!” said Pooh!
2) For readers who haven’t had a chance to check out your Writing Rambling blog, could you tell us about it?
Sure! Writing Rambling is a place where I can write and ramble on about anything which interests me! Haha! No, but seriously I treat it like an online diary where I can tell my readers all about my favourite skincare product, a prize I won, a restaurant review or simply a place where I can feature new and emerging small businesses. One of the best things about being a blogger is making a discovery of a new business and getting to learn more about them. I feel as bloggers that we have a duty to these businesses to build them up and give them more recognition. It is definitely one part of it that I love!
3) Browsing through your blog, it seems that yours has something in common with our Endpaper Blog – a series of interviews with fellow bloggers. What inspired you to bring other writers on board?
Well first off, one thing you should know about me is that I’m a big chatterbox!! I love chatting to people and finding out more about them! The blogging community is so big at the moment that it can feel like the new, smaller bloggers don’t always get seen as much as they deserve to! So I started my #MeetTheBlogger Series to really give them a chance to be in the spotlight and for their blog to get seen more perhaps! I also love finding out more about the bloggers that I follow and admire too – I’ve got some pretty big bloggers coming up in this series and I can’t quite believe it, but the one thing I’ve found is that everyone is really friendly and is very willing to take time out of their life to answer a few questions for you!
4) How was it that you got into lifestyle blogging?
I started my Blog in April of 2012 when I was beginning to feel disillusioned with running my own business and was dreaming of escaping, but at that point I didn’t quite know if I was actually going to! So I started playing an online game called Fantasy Shopper which allowed you to shop anywhere you liked without spending any real money! I loved it and met a load of great ladies on there. We started a Facebook group and would share details of outfits we had created. At first I thought I wanted to be a fashion blogger but that didn’t work out so well so I changed my blog name, changed my layout and began focusing on what I did love: Beauty! This worked well for a while but then I found I was wanting to write about things which weren’t strictly beauty related so I changed tack again and became a lifestyle blogger! This fits me perfectly as it gives me creative freedom to write about whatever I want to and doesn’t put me into a niche. But of course I couldn’t not have cake in there….so Writing Rambling is a Lifestyle Blog…with added cake! =D
5) Do you have a particular subject matter that you especially love writing about?
Well I really love my #smallbiz series which is where I introduce a different small business to my readers. I have found all of the businesses I feature under the #smallbiz hashtag on Twitter. I love finding and learning more about them! Like I mentioned before I find that as a blogger I feel a kind of duty to these brands/small businesses to not only buy from them but to also write about them so more people are made aware of them!! I just love it!
6) Other than blogging, what are your passions or hobbies?
Well I do love to bake! I can be found in the kitchen (usually when I’m bored!) whipping up a batch of cupcakes or a Victoria sponge cake!! I love to read as well, it’s something of a re-discovery for me this year. I love spending time with my friends and my BFF has just had her first baby so there are lots of cuddles happening at the moment!
I have a passion for animals, especially horses! I can ride and love the chance to get back in the saddle. I’m still so proud of the two mares I trained in Australia by myself. >.<
7) Has anyone, or anything, in particular inspired your creativity and artistic passion?
I wouldn’t say anyone in particular really, I just like to do my own thing and hope other people enjoy it! But I am inspired by everything around me, from the places I go to the people I meet to being outside in nature – to me that’s where creativity comes from.
8) Any advice you would share with fellow journallers or bloggers hoping to connect with a larger audience?
I would just say start writing!! One of my favourite quotes is by Cyril Connolly: “It is best to write for yourself and have no public than to write for the public and have no self.” I heard this at the end of a “Criminal Minds” episode (which by the way is one of the best shows on TV!) and was so struck by it that I immediately changed my Twitter bio. I believe that if you write the content you want to write and try not to worry too much about everyone else, you’ll go far! xoxo
You can find Sarah on…
Twitter: @sunshinesarahxo
Blog: www.writingrambling.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/WritingRambling
Instagram: www.instagram.com/sunshinesarahxo
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