As part of the process of accepting the Liebster award I have been invited to answer the questions set by Dorlee M, the blogger who selected me for the award. (To see who I have bestowed the award on in turn and the first part of this post, click here).
If I have awarded you and you want to skip my answers and go straight to the section with my questions for you (and simple instructions on how this whole thing works), click here.
A little about me
So here goes, my answers:
What are the best three words that would describe you?
Empathetic, introvert, silly.
What do you hope to achieve with your blog?
That challenging teens are seen as the hurting teens that they invariably are, and that those who read my blog will learn to connect with and help them heal and go on to live the happy productive lives that they deserve to.
Which of your blog posts is your favorite, and why?
My Consumption, Your Compassion because it is something like my manifesto, or my heart song for troubled young people.
What has writing taught you?
That there are words inside me that no amount of verbal expression could render. When I am writing I surrender to a message, to words, that are deeply of me, but also not. If you write or do something creative, you may well know what I mean.
What advice do you have for pushing through fear?
Remember that your capacity to overcome your fears is always greater than your fears, you just have to use your overcoming power even a little bit to realise you have it, and to keep on tapping into it to realise the extent of it. In short, take little brave steps and before you realise it you are a knight or knightess astride your horse, blowing raspberries at the dragon.
What are some of your favorite quotes?
‘Be the change you want to see in the world’, Gandhi
‘We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference’, Mandela
What do you do for self-care and/or relaxation?
Get out in nature- walking or cycling, although I don’t do this as often as I should.
What advice do you wish someone had given you before starting your career?
Value your slowness to form opinions and don’t feel you are lacking when you don’t contribute to discussions immediately. Some of my best ideas and insights into how to solve problems or even to recognise problems with young people and also at organisational level have come after a good old ponder. Obviously sometimes speed is of the essence, but where possible allow for pondering, particularly if that is what you are naturally inclined to do. It’s how I do my best thinking.
What are three things on your bucket list?
To be honest I don’t have a bucket list right now, I’m too busy trying to live life today! Maybe when the nest is empty and I’ve retired from juggling I’ll have time to make one. Right now my goal is just not to kick the bucket… or drop the balls!
Instructions for recipients of the Liebster Award:
1. Create a blog post (or two like I did or you end up with a mammoth post)
2. Thank the Liebster Blog Award presenter ie. me, and link back to my blog (so there is a little bit of paying back, truth be told)
3. The award rules specify that a nominee/award recipient is to:
Answer the 10 questions from the nominator
Nominate 10 blogs (with less than 3000 readers) and create 10 questions for your nominees
– well I already broke the rules by only nominating 6 blogs, one of which I know for a fact has way more than 3000 followers, and creating 6 questions (see below for questions)
– you don’t have to describe the blogs, just list them, although I personally think way more value is added with a little description but it’s up to you
– the rules morph all the time, there is no high Liebster award judge waiting to pass sentence on any misdemeanours and quite frankly I don’t care even if they did, I’m only doing this because it helps to spread the word about other blogs. So feel free to nominate as many or as few blogs as you like, or answer as many or as few of my questions as you like. I will let you know if I am struck down by lightning by the blogosphere in the meantime. Mmmm, maybe I should have put ‘subversive’ down as one of the three best words to describe myself……
Anyway, I hope you feel you can participate, it helps to increase readership to worthy blogs and I am genuinely interested to know what your top blog picks are so I can hopefully expand my regular reading list too!
My questions for award recipients:
What do you hope to achieve with your blog?
What is your favourite blog post?
As writers, what are your three favourite words?
If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
What have you learned today?
What is your main goal for 2014 (personal or professional)?
