Hi! My name is Victoria Heath and I’m the owner and founder of The Essentialist.
I’m 21 years old and live in Birmingham, United Kingdom. I’m currently in my final year of studying English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Warwick, and have just finished my study year abroad at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada.
I started this blog back in December 2019, when I was still toying with the idea of pursuing Medicine as a degree. Initially, I wanted the blog to be anonymous, not tied to me – I named it ‘The Essentialist’ because I imagined it would be full of ‘essential’ things – big news stories, hot topics – and in a way, I would blend into the background behind the story. The news would be first, the writer second. At the time, I probably would have told you that the things I was writing, were aiming to be ‘essential’ to the general reader.
Since then, I’ve realised that the blog has become more of a platform to write ‘essential’ things to me, and I have felt more comfortable being the known author (or topic, as in one of my posts . I’m not necessarily writing about topics which may be the most important (although, who decides what is ‘important’ or not anyway? Isn’t everything that a writer wants to write important in its own way?). I decided not to change the name of the blog, because it still resonates with me, albeit has a different meaning to its first iteration.
I love writing ‘traditional’ articles – think current affairs, opinion journalism, etc. – but I also have a penchant for creative writing. Narrative memoir, short stories, autofiction. You’ll find a blend of all my writerly interests on this blog. A news article sitting next to a microfiction piece; a short story alongside a narrative memoir about moving abroad.
I write across various publications too – including Geographical, Empoword Journalism and I Am BeYoutiful – so if you like my work, feel free to check my words out elsewhere! Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoy pursuing through The Essentialist.
The Essentialist 