Being brave in doing what I love: how I started my own magazine

By Julia Benko

I have been an avid magazine reader for as long as I can remember. I’ve always loved flicking through the pages and absorbing the stories. I'm a fourth-year student at the University of Stirling, studying English and Business. My passion, however, lies in journalism –  it's the career field I'm hoping to get into.

If someone had told me that one day I’d create a magazine myself, I’d think they were having a laugh.

But last summer, I did it. I fought against all of my insecurities and started Midway Magazine.

I was consumed by self-doubt before I even decided to pursue it. Every voice in my head told me that it was a stupid idea, that I don’t have enough experience and that getting people to write for it wouldn’t work – nobody would want to do it.

Part of the reason why I decided to launch a magazine is to get more perspective into how a publication is run. I'm a comment editor in my student publication Brig Newspaper, but I wanted to know what it feels like to create something meaningful from the ground up.

The vision board created by Julia for Midway magazine

Building up the confidence was hard. Countless times I had to sit myself down and give myself pep-talks to remind myself that there was a reason I felt like starting this project, that it simply felt right and that if I didn’t act on it, I’d regret it.

Eventually I gave in: I visualised my idea and created a WordPress page. I got in touch with a few artists and some people I’ve been following who I thought could be interested. I went into every conversation expecting the worst. However, more often than not, I found that people were enthusiastic to talk about their passions.

I was in disbelief and started thinking that this might actually work. But the real kicker came when the magazine was ready to be launched. Promoting it on social media was my worst nightmare. I never publicised my personal projects; I felt so bare and vulnerable doing it.

“If this fails, please don’t let anyone remember,” I thought.

Nearly a year later, I can confirm it didn’t fail.

Another reason why I started the magazine is because I've always been devoted to expressing myself through the arts – mainly through words. Putting my emotions down in writing always helps me cope, and I know there are many people who do the same, whether it's through taking photos, creating an outfit or painting.

“There’s no such thing as failing when it comes to following your heart”

They let their emotions out and take control of them, rather than letting their emotions control them. That is essentially what Midway Magazine is: it's all about self-expression. It's a way to decompress and express yourself through a medium of your preference and then sharing it with the world, which I find can be quite a cathartic experience. 

While Midway is still a small team of writers, I’d call it a successful personal project; one that’s teaching me something new every day. Since launching it, I’ve learned how to get in touch with people in various ways, how to create engaging content and always be on the lookout for more, but most importantly, it taught me how to be confident in achieving my dreams.

It’s very important to remember: there’s no such thing as failing when it comes to following your heart.

Building Midway took a long time, a lot of patience and it pushed many of my boundaries, but it also opened me up to exploring the lengths of my determination and provided me with handy new skills.

It’s a very rewarding feeling to see something you worked so hard on flourish and see yourself blossom in the process, too.

So, if there’s something you’ve been wanting to do or a project you’ve been wanting to start but felt that you “weren’t good enough” – this is your sign to go against those voices that tell you you shouldn’t, and do it anyway.

I know tuning out the anxious thoughts isn’t easy. But be kind to yourself. Picture yourself at the finish line, happy in knowing that you’ve been brave enough to do what you love.