About a year and a half ago, I was nominated for the blogger Liebster Award, and it was a wonderful honor. This week, the awesome blogger Kimberly Erskine nominated me for the award once again, and I am just as honored and thrilled to be chosen. I love that this award has been making its rounds over the years, and I love that I have been privileged to be recognized multiple times for writing something that has impacted another blogger in the world. Thank, you, Kimberly!

It seems that the award has some rules, and I’m too-happy to follow along:
1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer the questions that the tagger set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you’ve tagged to answer.
3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
4. Go to their page and tell them.
5. No tag backs!
The 11 bloggers I”m tagging for this award:
Eeep I’m a Blogger| Lisa’s Yarns| Sweet Green Tangerine| With Faith and Grace| Curious Notions| Lovely Explorer| Veni Vidi Vici| Stephany Writes| Girl With the Red Hair| This Unscripted Life| Angie Eats Peace|
Some of these ladies have been in my Google Reader for YEARS, and some are more recent, but they’re all the blogs that I immediately open when I have the chance to catch up on my blog reading. They’re inspirational, they post thoughtful, well-written pieces that never fail to inspire me in one way or another. I consider them all friends in one way or another, and I can’t recommend them all enough for you if you enjoy the writing you see around here. We all have rather similar interests, so check them out!
If you girls feel like participating, here are my 11 questions for you:
1. Why did you start blogging, and more importantly why have you chosen to continue it over the years?
2. What was the ONE most important moment of 2012 for you, and why?
3. If you were on a deserted island and could have any three things, what would they be?
4. What is your current favorite song that I should be listening to?
5. What is one favorite blog post you have written? (post a link!)
6. Name one of your guilty pleasures.
7. If you could give a piece of advice to yourself when you were 15, what would it be?
8. What book are you looking forward to reading in the near future?
9. Tell your readers something they may not know about you!
10. You’re told that you have to drop one of your social media accounts- which one, and why?
11. What is one thing that you truly could not live without?
Kimberly’s questions for me:
1. What was the most influential moment of your life?
This is a tough one, because I think there are many influential moments so far in my life that have shaped who I am. Some of them include the birth of my nephew, who taught me once again how important family truly is; another was all the work I put towards getting into my school- not only has it changed my life, but it showed me that I AM capable of doing anything I put my mind to.

2. If you could only have one, what vanity product is a must keep (i.e. blush, make-ups brushes, hair product, spandex )?
I don’t NEED my make-up or my vanity products, I go many days without using any at all! I’d have to say that hair products for curly hair would be a big must though (if not straight hair, then gotta keep those curls alive!)and probably cream, because I moisturize like it’s nobody’s business!

3. What is your favorite read and why?
MY FAVORITE READ? Well, you’ll never get me to choose one book, Kimberly, ha! I have about a dozen that immediately come to mind. The Harry Potter series, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Looking for Alaska by John Green, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay, and 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson. I also spot about 10 more I could have named. This question just gave me some anxiety!

4. What was your dream job as a little kid?
I think I wanted to be a doctor or a veterinarian… And when I was a young teenager I wanted to be a psychologist. That one followed me for a long, long time!

5. What is your favorite quality in a person?
Honesty. I’m a very honest person, I don’t like to play games, and if I can have a straight conversation with you,we’ll be the best of friends

6. Which of the blog posts that you’ve written is your favorite (post that link)? =]
Can I be kind of vain and say that I have a lot of favorite posts? Most of them are my more honest ones. One of the first in the series from two years ago now is called ‘On…Waiting’ and I still love it because it symbolizes everything that I became after the events that happened at that time in my life. I have become a more forgiving person, I listen more carefully, and I have just always been more aware of time, and how it is such a fleeting thing.

7. What is your favorite quote?
I have many. Many of the are book related, and you can check them out on my Goodreads HERE! I have many music ones as well, one of them being: “This world can be ugly, but isn’t it beautiful?” And really, isn’t that the truth? I just love it.

8. Who is your celebrity crush?
Leonardo DiCaprio is the longest running one for sure.

9. If you could have dinner with anyone (alive, deceased, fictional), who would it be and why?
You mean, other than Leo D so that we could finally get married? Probably John Green (because we’d get along extremely well, I’m sure of it) and probably Emma Watson, because she seems like an amazing person, and I want to pick her brain!

10. What is one thing you wish you were better at or wish you had that talent?
I’ve always wanted to be a singer! Like, a really good one. I love to sing, I want to work in music… It’s a curse that I wasn’t given the talent!

11. What is one goal that you have for your blog?
Hmmm. I’ve had many goals over the five years that I’ve blogged, but I must admit many of them no longer apply. I think after so long, my biggest goal is to always keep this space honest, and true to who I am.

AND FINALLY. 11 (honest) things about me:

1. I think the person that I AM and the person that people see sometimes doesn’t match up in my mind. I consider myself very awkward, anxious, and overall not great in social situations. I’m told this isn’t necessarily the case? Not sure how that happened.
2. Not a single day goes by in my life that I don’t listen to music. I think I would go insane without the ability to listen to it.
3. My work, more often than not, is a second home to me. When I walk in, I’m comforted by the rows of books, by the people, and by the customers. The smell of Starbucks brewing during an early morning shift? Nothing beats that source of comfort.
4. I desperately want to take part in a humanitarian trip. I want to go some place in the world where they need people to know that they are thought about, cared for, and not alone.
5. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without my family. Sometimes, I’m sad that I didn’t have one of those big families with tons of siblings, but when I think of the people I DO have, I’m so eternally grateful that it hardly matters.
6. I’m not so great with relationships.
7. I’m also not so great in school, even though I desperately wish I was.
8. I lack an ability to self-motivate myself in the things that aren’t *fun*
9. I wish I had the ability to pause the day & enjoy a couple extra hours
10. I’m materialistic. It sucks sometimes, but my life is no longer complete without an iPod, an iPhone and all the other comforts I’ve grown used to.
11. I often wish I was one of those bloggers who could make money from my space here. I just love it so much, I wish I could do it all day, every day!

Thanks again Kimberly! If you’d like to participate but don’t want to write a whole post, feel free to answer any or all of the questions above!