The Houston County Carrie Bradshaw

By Katie Bradshaw

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Glitz and glam are the first two words that come to mind when I think of myself, but when I introduce myself to people in New York, it always goes like this:

‘Hey, my name is Katie Bradshaw, and I’m a journalism grad student at NYU.’

The standard response I get is:

‘Wait, Bradshaw, like Carrie Bradshaw?’

I say yes with a smile and go about my day, but I’m not 100% like Carrie Bradshaw, or rather, she’s not like me.

I grew up in Crockett, Texas. The sight of pine trees, royal blue and white colored shirts with bulldogs on them, and trailers full of cattle were a part of the norm. Now, the only tree I see is at the Rockefeller Center for Christmas, purple and white are my school colors, and if I wanted to see a cow I would have to go to the Zoo (not joking).

As a child, I dreamt of living in a city that never sleeps. I had pictures of New York City all over my room that I picked up from Hobby Lobby throughout the years, and when I decided that I wanted to get my master’s degree from New York University, there was no stopping me.

Carrie was not raised in Texas like I was, but we share more than just a last name and a star sign: the passion for writing.

My journey to pen and paper is quite interesting. I remember moments from my childhood sitting on the floor of The Messenger and I have spent hours over the years lying on the bench at K.I.V.Y. Radio as my dad has worked for both, but I never had the journalism itch, even though I grew up in it.

Fast-forward to January 2022, I was a freshman at Baylor University and on the path to becoming a lawyer. I thought I had it all figured out until I visited the law school during their finals season and could feel the stress radiating off of the students as I walked past them. I knew right then and there that I was not meant to be a lawyer and that I had a different calling.

Around that same time, I met a girl in my sorority who was a journalism student. I asked her if we could grab lunch and discuss her time in the journalism department. The next day I changed my major. But it was my study abroad trip to Sicily, Italy, that wrote it all in stone for me.

While in Italy for five weeks during 2023, I fell in love with the magazine industry. The ability to create was something that I had always wanted to do and had done through my passions as a child: dance, theatre, and cheerleading. The creative senses that the magazine sphere drew out of me in an instant moment as I stood in a magazine shop in Italy were undoubtedly present. It was the Vogue Italia July 2023 cover of Kim Kardashian that did it, and now that same magazine sits on a shelf in my New York apartment as I work towards my future in the journalism industry.

This past May I graduated from Baylor University with my bachelor’s of arts in journalism. I began my master’s program in magazine and digital storytelling journalism at New York University in September. As long as I can remember, the goal has always been: New York. I’ve been able to check that off my to-do list, but as I’ve been here for almost four months now, that list has grown.

My passion for journalism has grown, my priorities have grown, and I as a person have grown.

These past four months have taught me so much, but I’m not done nor satisfied yet. As I’ve been mastering my craft in the journalism world, my words have brought me here, to this very page you’re reading.

I’ve written a few pieces over the years for The Messenger, but I am excited to share with you that I’ll be joining The Messenger as a contributor. I’m currently living my dreams out in New York, but Houston County will always have a place in my heart. It would be an honor to give back to my community through the power of journalism.

Carrie Bradshaw and I are both blondes, fashionistas, New York City lovers, ‘Bradshaws,’ and

journalists, but I think I could teach her a thing or two about good ’ole Houston County through my future pieces at The Messenger.