The 2017 Liebster Award – Thank You!

Hello beautiful humans.

If there is one thing I am trying to improve on, it is checking my blog mail. Seriously, I know procrastination is an arch nemesis of mine, but as dedicated and loyal I try to be to my blog, I tend to forget to filter through my emails. Sometimes I overlook them, sometimes I open them when I’m scrolling through my phone in the morning – before the caffeine has kicked in yet – and completely forget to reply. I know, it’s no excuse, but I’m working on it. Let’s just say I have lots of “Oh Crap!” moments several days later when I realize how stunned I have been.

But I’m working on being more diligent with my blog mail, I promise!

Why do I bring this up you may ask?
Well over the last week, I had been nominated twice for the 2017 Liebster Award, an annual internet blog award. First by Sylvia Marcia at Mental Health Lifestyle Blog and then Caroline at Parenting Anxious Kids. While both blogs are new discoveries for me, I am grateful they have stumbled upon my own blog, and in return I am excited to read more of their own work.

Sylvia is fellow sister who is also struggling with anxiety and depression and it’s always warming to see others brave enough to share their own stories. On the flip side, Caroline is a great perspective because I believe we still need more parents to speak out about how they learn to cope having children suffering with mental health issues. It’s one thing for us to share our stories, but sometimes we don’t see the affect our illness has on those closest to us. Through their perspective, especially through a parent’s eyes, we can learn even more. So thank you both, ladies! Keep blogging.

The Shout Out

Part of the rules to accepting a nomination for a Liebster Award is giving a big shout out to another blog that inspires me the most. While I have so many favourite blogs, there is one that stands out amongst the rest. Athena at Courage Coaching is my go-to blog. I’ve been following Athena basically ever since I first started my own blog two years ago. No two experiences are the same, but out of everything I have read, Athena’s own experiences resonate with me and on multiple occasions I have read her blog and went, “Yes! That’s how I feel!” or “She’s just like me!” Honestly, I could go on and on about her insightfulness, but let’s just say when I check my emails (when I’m actually paying attention! LOL) in the morning and get the notifications from WordPress that Athena has wrote a new post, I’m clicking Read More! instantly. Do yourself a solid and check out her work. It’s worth it. Believe me. 🙂

The Interview

Also, as part of the nomination I had to answer ten questions about myself that were proposed by the nominators. Since Caroline and Sylvia nominated me within a day of each other, I decided to divvy up their proposed questions. It just seemed fair! 🙂

Alright, let’s do this:

1. If you could choose a musical anthem (is there any other kind?) for your life, what would it be? ANYTHING LINKIN PARK!…Let me say that a little more calmly: Any song by Linkin Park. Seriously. I’m a little UFC obsessed, so whenever I daydream about me walking toward an octagon ring in a stadium filled with screaming fans, I picture a hardcore LP song playing as my anthem. Specifically? “A Light That Never Comes”. Why? Because I have gotten knocked down too many times in my life that I have finally reached a point where I take no crap. I’m going to stand up for myself for once and this song can really get you hyped. (Sorry to all those who know me personally who are rolling their eyes at this answer.)
2. What is your favourite food and why? This changes constantly, but my “favourite” food currently is sushi. I can’t get enough of it!
3. If you had to pick sides in a fight between a Care Bear and a My Little Pony, which side would you choose and why? I am a 90s kid, so this was easy. Care Bears. 100%. You really wanna face an army of seemingly cute teddies that suddenly shoot magic beams through their stomachs without remorse? No thank you. Besides, I still own my Care Bear teddies from when I was a kid. No shame.
4. What did you want to be when you grew up? A Sailor Scout. You have no idea how heartbreaking it was to learn that Sailor Moon wasn’t real. Literal dreams were shattered. I’m still trying to recover.
5. If you were a mythical creature what would you be and why? An elf, so I could still look like I’m thirty at 300 years-old. (LOTR anyone?)
6. What is your favourite quote? “I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition.”  Martha Washington (Wise words to live by!)
7. What is your go-to emotion? Panic and I blame that on my PTSD. Something good happens? Panic. Something bad happens? Panic. Something really, really bad happens? Seriously panic. My fiancé always jokes around by saying, “You took it to a ten now bring it back down to a five.” In the heat of the moment, it irritates the hell outta me but afterwards we get a good snicker out of it.
8. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why? Japan. I would love to spend months over there backpacking around. I’m a self-professed geek girl and I would be able to live out so many bucket items/dreams by going there. And to see those beautiful cherry blossom trees in full bloom? Yes, please!
9. Favourite book ever? This also changes as the years go by. Currently? Last month I finished reading Beartown by Fredrik Backman and the last forty pages I was just constantly bawling my eyes out. I grew up in a small hockey town too and there was so much that I recognized and related to. It broke my heart in so many ways. It’s rare to find a book like that.
10. What is your favourite childhood movie? Fly Away Home. I had my poor mother drove nuts, begging her to take me to the movie rental shop (back when those existed) so I could rent Fly Away Home. Even today, every time “10,000 Miles” starts playing as she’s flying with the geese – instant tears.

Spreading the Recognition

Of course in accepting an award, you also have to share in the love. So here are five blogs that I believe deserve this award as well. Seriously, check them all out! From fellow mental health strugglers, to inspiring army vets, and deep thinkers who look for a deeper meaning in life, you’ll find all of these on this list.

1. Courage Coaching
2. Story of My Life
3. Embracing Authenticity
4. R.S. Noel
5. A Perspective on Life from a Shy Introvert

My proposed questions for these bloggers to answer:

1. Why did you start your own blog?
2. If you could travel back in time, what time period would you visit and why?
3. Favourite food and/or drink?
4. Who is the most influential person in your life (Famous or not)?
5. What is your favourite animal? Why?
6. What is your favourite season? Why?
7. If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
8. What is your top BucketList item? Why?
9. Who/whom is your favourite musical artist?
10. What has been the most rewarding moment as a blogger?

The 2017 Liebster Award Guidelines

Incase anyone was wondering how the Liebster Award worked, here are the guidelines:

1. Thank the person who nominated you, and put a link to their blog on your blog. Try to include a little promotion for the person who nominated you. They will thank you for it and those who you nominate will also help you out as well.
2. Display the award on your blog — by including it in your post and/or displaying it using a “widget” or a “gadget”. (Note that the best way to do this is to save the image to your own computer and then upload it to your blog post.)
3. Write a 150-300 word post about your favourite blog that is not your own. Explain why you like the blog, provide links.
4. Provide 10 random facts about yourself. (This year I’m making this optional. If you wish to engage with your readers it’s a great idea to include random facts about you.
5. Nominate 5 – 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, who have a less than 200 followers. (Note that you can always ask the blog owner this since not all blogs display a widget that lets the readers know this information!
6. List these rules in your post (You can copy and paste from here or simply link to this post.) Once you have written and published it, you then have to.
7. Inform the people/blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster award and provide a link for them to your post or mine (Jack Henry) if you don’t have all the information so that they can learn about it (they might not have ever heard of it!) Post a comment in the comments below (on the website https://theglobalaussie.com/blog/liebster-award-2017/ ) so I (Jack Henry) can view your post and check out your blog. I (Jack Henry)personally visit each and everyone.I (Jack Henry) visited a few hundred last year!!!

Again, thank you to Caroline and Sylvia for nominating for this blog award. It feels good to be recognized, even if it is in a small way. In the large vast of the blogging world, it’s an amazing feeling to know your voice reached at least one person. So again, thank you!

And as always,

Fight the good fight.

-A xo

 

Official Rules at The Global Aussie