It’s no secret that the blogosphere has exploded the past few years, whether personal, fashion and style, or health and wellbeing, there is no shortage of bloggers on the internet. Experienced and inexperienced writers looking for an outlet to share their thoughts and opinions take to the internet to post in hopes of finding like minded readers. Some blogs stand out from the rest while some fall under the radar, but no matter what each blog is the product of handwork and dedication. We’d like to take a moment to highlight some of the most notable bloggers on campus.
Two of our favorites are Katelynn Staples’ vegan blog, Plant-Based Babe, and Dominique Lott’s fashion blog, Chasing Dom. Both writers are Fashion Communication majors, Katelynn a senior with a double minor in graphic design and event management who also writes for Her Campus Lasell, and Dom a California native with an illustrious career in special ops for the Air Force, who plans to go to the London College of Fashion this coming semester. These extraordinary women excel in their respective fields and have creative content that keeps their readers engaged and informed on the latest trends in fashion and vegan lifestyles.
Blog: Plant-Based Babe
Writer: Katelynn Staples
Q. When did you start your blog?
A. My blog is about 6 months old, so it’s still really new and I’m still trying to develop it into what I want it to be.
Q. What’s the biggest challenge you’ve overcome with blogging?
A. The biggest challenge I’ve overcome is not being afraid to let my voice be heard and harnessing the power to share something I’m so passionate about.
Q. What’s your favorite part about blogging/your blog?
A. My favorite thing about blogging is being able to articulate to my friends and family what it means to be vegan, why I do it, and the incredible benefits.
Q. How do you decide what to write about?
A. I try to plan out several posts at once and stock up on content but in reality, my busy schedule prevents me from writing as much as I would like to. I love doing beauty reviews when I try out new products as well as talk about different food brands and companies, and anytime I go to a vegan/vegetarian restaurant I write about it. I just write about whatever’s relevant in my own life at the moment within the cruelty-free living category.
Q. What’s the goal of your blog?
A. My ultimate goal is to encourage veganism, cruelty-free beauty, and a conscious lifestyle and help people realize how easy it is and how good it makes you feel. I’d like to start incorporating more fashion into my blog and grow my traffic to a wider demographic.
Q. Do you have a message for your readers?
A. My message to my readers is that a vegan lifestyle is healthy, ethical, and life-changing. I have become a more compassionate, environmentally aware, and happier person and I want everyone to experience the same thing. I also want to shut down stereotypes and myths around veganism, like how we need meat or how being vegan is difficult.
Blog: Chasing Dom
Writer: Dominique Lott
Q. When did you start your blog?
A. I started my blog as a project in March 2014 I believe, I began pursuing it more seriously in summer 2016 and now it’s my baby.
Q. What’s the biggest challenge you’ve overcome with blogging?
A. The biggest challenge that I’ve overcome is being comfortable calling myself a blogger and seeing myself as one. There are thousands of blogs out there and people tend to roll their eyes at fashion bloggers, but once they get past the eye-rolling phase they start to actually pay attention and value what you show and what you say. I had to see myself as a blogger before anyone else would.
Q. What’s your favorite part about blogging/your blog?
A. I don’t even know where to start. One of my favorite things about my blog and blogging in general is that I have the opportunity to positively influence people. It’s crazy that there are actual people out there who read my blog and look to see what I’m wearing next.
Q. How do you decide what to write about?
A. My environment inspires me most of the time. Sometimes I’ll watch something on tv, have a conversation with a friend, think of a certain memory or make a fashion purchase that excites me. I try not to post shallow content and show people my outfit and my Starbucks, then tell you where I got my threads. It gets old right? Whether people read my content or not, I want to give them some substance and something personal to take away. This is one of the reasons why I write in my voice so to speak, I typically write how I speak.
Q. What’s the goal of your blog?
A. The goal of my blog is to empower women to feel confident and comfortable in their own skin. The media is rife with negativity and when you have your own blog you become a part of the media. It’s very important to me that I always have a safe place for my readers to come to, a place where they don’t feel excluded.
Q. Do you have a message for your readers?
A. Yes! I think that my readers are some of the coolest people in the universe. They decided to give a darn about what I say and what I’m wearing and that’s incredible. My blog is growing and improving and I LOVE interacting with my readers. Don’t be afraid to send me private feedback and let me know what you would like me to talk about. It’s not just about fashion and it’s definitely not the shallow “here I am with my Starbucks” type of blog. So if you want me to tackle something personal, let me know! I could go on forever but I’ll get off my soapbox now.
We hope you take a minute to go look and enjoy Dom and Katelynn’s blogs as well as the wonderful work done by Her Campus Lasell bloggers! Maybe you’ll subscribe or maybe they’ll inspire you to start your own.