If I am totally honest with you, I have tried to come up with some witty snippet which shows my sheer admiration for the woman I am about to interview and nothing came close. In other words, Rachel Salter, otherwise known as Dollie is not only one of the most inspiring people I have ever met, but is truly an incredible friend.
Whilst sharing her love of all things Disney, her illnesses, and her up and coming bundle of Joy, its safe to Say the love she shares throughout her channels, will soon be shown in an all new light. So I would like to welcome you to the wonderfully magical world of Dollies Adventures...
Hope you’re okay and are still as wonderful as ever! 2018 was such a massive year for you, what does 2019 hold for you?
Hey Em! Thank you so much for having me as apart of your interviews, I am so grateful to be given this chance to sit and have a little natter with you. Well kicking of 2019 with the most incredible news that I am going to be a mummy. My husband and I have been trying for a baby for a long while so feel completely blessed to finally have this beautiful baby in our lives. Baby is due in September and I cannot wait. This year will bring lots of lifestyle updates in regards to pregnant life, decorating the nursery and on top of that LOTS more Disney and lovely pretties! I am still working with Soap and Glory reviewing new products which is always such a joy and I hope to work with another big beauty brand in the coming future all being well, I’ll reveal as time goes on.
Disney is such a huge part of your life, are you planning on taking any more trips to the land of happiness?
My husband and I are absolutely planning more trips to Disney of course!! Once Baby is big and old enough to safely and comfortably travel we will make that magical journey to the castle and share it with our baby.
For me you embody Disney, you provide so much happiness to those around you whether thats through your blog, social media or friendship. Even supporting people like myself when we were completely young and naive. So, I was wondering, If there was one thing you would want to tell your younger self?
Oh that is an incredibly good question and one that generates nothing short of a powerful response. What I would tell my younger self is to STOP! Stop confirming to trends, groups, popular opinions and acting a certain way because you thought it was cool ~ Be your own person, stand out because you’re yourself and proud. Make decisions based on your gut and not your heart and always have faith in your own mind and abilities. I would tell myself to stop being to hard on yourself, you put too much pressure on yourself and you don’t need to. Enjoy life and the little things because with hard work you’ll reap the benefits so work hard but don’t forget to let your hair down because your only young once and shouldn’t look back regret can eat a person alive.
You are so passionate about spreading awareness about disabilities, is this something that you will continue to do on your blog and socials?
100% absolutely! Awareness is key after all! Individuals with disabilities are amount the strongest of people I have had the deepest pleasure of meeting, working with and crossing paths with, I adore everyone I have met and am humbled and inspired by everyone’s journeys and lives. WE deserve everything that everyone else is offered, the disabled community deserve a voice and a platform and if I am but one person who helps stand up and creates a voice then so be it. One person is better than none. When I was first diagnosed with my health conditions it wasn’t the condition that hurt and tore me apart it was the sheer loneliness and isolation being sick brings and I couldn’t bare the thought of anyone else feeling this same feeling. So if I have to speak openly and freely about my health including all the embarrassing parts in order to stop just 1 other person feeling that loneliness creep in ~ then my blog has made a difference. That’s why I’ll continue to speak freely, openly and proudly about my disabilities on as many platforms as possible.
Just one thing I admire about you is your openness to discuss your own illnesses, whilst still taking on the world like the ultimate boss. Do you ever think your amazing mindset could be changed?
Oh bless you babe, thank you, no way!! My mindset will never change I will continue to be the honest, humorous and sometimes sarcastic writer about my own health for as long as there’s a platform I will continue to have a voice.
In the past you’ve been a constant support when I’ve struggled with my mums illness’s. Is being a support to others something that means a lot to you ? And do you have your own supporters when things get tough?
Hearing that makes me feel so happy knowing that I have offered support to you in times where you’ve needed it the most, that makes me so happy. I feel very passionate about helping and supporting others because to be honest with my illnesses and disabilities made my life incredibly difficult and I probably did not have as much support as I needed not through anyone’s fault but Purely because my support network where so fearful of the diagnosis and the life I was living that they wouldn’t accept or acknowledge it and that made it hard to manage alone. I had no choice but to become my own biggest support and learn to be strong for everyone else and myself. This is probably why I am passionate about helping and supporting others.
You have an amazing ability of making every one feel amazing about themselves. You’re so motivating to everyone, who motivates you?
I think personally it’s not who motivates me it’s more so what motivates me. The motivations comes from the fact that I was told I would never be able or capable of doing something, therefore find love and motivation is finding a passion for something that no one believed that I could but don’t get me wrong the smaller passionate bloggers inspire me because they remind me that we all started somewhere and everyone deserves a chance and a platform to do what they love.
In the past you have dabbled in YouTube, is that something your going to continue ? Or is blogging the way for you?
I would LOVE to do some YouTube pregnancy videos however I’m honestly struggling to find the time to do everything. When your pregnant, working and walking around with some absolutely crap health issues days can run away with you and sometimes finding time to eat becomes a task in itself. If there where more hours in the day I would love too.
You have worked with some amazing brands recently, is this something you’d love to continue?
Yes I feel absolutely blessed to have been given such wonderful opportunities with brands and I hope that I continue working with some more, as I mentioned earlier there’s one more in the pipeline but I’m not allowed to mention that yet ha ha!
I could ask you a million questions (honestly) but if there was one thing that you wish you could tell others, what would it be?
One thing I could tell others?! Wow such an incredible question and to be honest I’m struggling to narrow it down because I am quite a passionate conversationalist and depending on my audience would depend on my topic. One this I would say is this STOP pushing smaller bloggers away just because of the amount of followers they have, so you ever think sometimes people just deserve a bloody break and need just 1 person to step out of the line of judgemental influencers and vouch for them?! Let’s just all be mindful that everyone is doing their best and sometimes someone just needs a break! Oh and STOP THROWING PLASTIC IN THE BLOODY SEA WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!! Ha ha!
And with that exceptional environmental point, I wanted to mention the impact Rachel has had on the blogging community- in particular the impact she’s had on smaller bloggers. Being a constant support for any blogger questioning their abilities, sharing her own thoughts on issues that effect all small writers, and fighting for equal opportunities- its safe to say that the blogosphere really would be missing a star if Rachel decided to end her adventure.
As of right now all I can say is thank you to this amazing woman. The support she has not only given me, but SO many others really has shaped who we become as a writer’s. For that alone I, owe a lot to Rachel.
So here’s to Dollies Adventures, I hope you never lose your way,
Em x
Disclaimer: All images used throughout this blog post are owned by Dollies Adventures. A conversation prior to the publishing of this interview confirmed that i was allowed to share them.
If you would like to see more of Rachel’s work, please feel free to click the links below.
Instagram handle: @dollies_adventures
