Trying to get your blog recognized and expand readership is a lot more difficult than you might think, especially because of how many other bloggers are out there. The great thing, though, is that the blogging community is very supportive – and I’ve recently been trying to join that community.
I was nominated for the Liebster Award, an award given to newer bloggers by other bloggers as a way to support each other in our journey to growing and building our blogs.
Thank you so much to Bobbi of 1FUNGRL Travels (click to check out her site!) for nominating me for this award!
Here are the RULES:
1) Post the award to your blog
2) Answer the questions you were given by the person who nominated you
3) Nominate a small group of bloggers you have discovered
4) Create 10 new questions for the nominees
5) Thank the blogger who nominated you and link to their blog
And now for my answers to Bobbi’s creative (and difficult!) questions:
1) What are the pros and cons of being a blogger?
Pros:
- I get to express myself and use my creativity on a daily basis.
- I am my own boss! I get to represent myself as my own brand, which is very cool.
- I have a platform to bring awareness to causes and stories that are important to me.
- My eyes have been opened to a whole new community of people who all have their own stories to tell.
- I have an excuse to buy lots of clothes! 😉
Cons:
- Running your own blog is a LOT of work. I don’t think people realize how much blood, sweat and tears goes into it.
- Sometimes it feels like nobody is reading your posts, which certainly stinks when you’ve spent so much time and energy on something.
- It’s hard to gain readership and followers in a natural way!
- The market is very saturated, so it’s hard not to feel insignificant sometimes…
But at the end of the day, I always try to remember I’m doing this for me!
2) Pick 5 people, dead or alive, you’d want to have a dinner party with!
This question gives me the same amount of anxiety it gave Blair Waldorf when the Dean of Admissions at Yale asked her.
I started overthinking it and trying to decide which influential people from which centuries I should invite…
But then I remembered it’s a party.
These individuals are in no particular order and this doesn’t mean they are my top five people in life or anything so keep calm. But seriously, how quirky and amazing would this dinner party be?!
- Iris Apfel
- Diane von Furstenberg
- Andy Cohen
- Emma Watson
- Zooey Deschanel
Bonus: Lily Collins’ eyebrow lady
3) If you were stranded on an island, but had all of the necessary supplies to LIVE, name 3 other things you would you want.
- My Kindle! As much as I love the smell and feel of a ‘real’ book, having an endless supply of novels at my fingertips would keep me content on my island for a long while.
- A lifetime supply of peanut butter and chocolate. I’m counting these as one thing because they are meant to be together!
- My bed. It is the comfiest thing in the world and I find it difficult to part with just for the day, let alone indefinitely.
4) What are your other passions in life?
I have to say that my blog encompasses most of my passions in life: writing, fashion, baking, reading, and bringing awareness to chronic/invisible illnesses like Type 1 diabetes. If I had to choose an ‘overall’ passion, I would say it’s bringing color into people’s lives. No, I don’t just mean literally, although I do think my bright clothes can elevate a mood! Through the above topics and many more, I love to put a smile on someone’s face and let them forget their troubles for a minute.
5) Name one of the funniest moments you’ve ever had happen.
This is another tough one! Is it sad that all the moments that come to mind were actually embarrassing or horrifying at the time but funny to relive later?
I guess the one that I’ll go with that makes me laugh in retrospect was during my senior year of college. My brother, Colin, and his girlfriend, Katie, took me to the Patriots game with them in Miami. Another couple they were friends with came along, so I was fifth wheeling it.
If you don’t really know me, I’ll give you a quick disclaimer before I continue. I am just about the least competitive person on earth, I have essentially no interest in sports, and I am “afraid of my own shadow” as my family would say.
Yet at this game, I overheard my brother jokingly engaging in some smack talk with a Dolphin’s fan who was probably in his thirties. I stood by at first, thinking it was typical of my hothead brother. Something the guy said to him must have struck a nerve with me, though. While my brother maintained his cool, I went off on this grown man. I must say that I have a way with words, though, so I can hold a darn good argument – I just don’t do so often! When my sarcastic digs didn’t seem to even register with the guy, our voices both escalated – and his girlfriend/wife got in my face! Since we were in enemy territory, and our team was losing, I realized that we probably shouldn’t wait the last quarter out. I had to round up my brother’s girlfriend and the other couple and make them leave early so we wouldn’t be attacked.
So yes, my non-confrontational five-foot-two, fishtail-braided self with a Vineyard Vines hat and huge nerd glasses on had to leave a football game early because of smack talking.
Oops!
6) What do you think makes you unique?
I think what makes me unique is that I have such a yin and yang within myself. Some days I dress super preppy, some days I go with an edgy look. Sometimes I’m scarily outgoing, sometimes I’m shy. Sometimes I can be a pushover, and sometimes I can get in fights with grown men.
While I am a very even-keeled person overall, small, different aspects of my life tend to go from one extreme to the other.
I swear it all has something to do with being a Libra.
Hey, at least there’s never a dull moment, right?
7) What are your top 5 websites you visit most often?
- Facebook. Cut me some slack people – I work in social media!
- Netflix. I can binge watch with the best of ‘em.
- Pinterest. Oh, I have to wake up in five hours? I’ll just pin for three more.
- Shopstyle. You can find anything and everything on this site. It makes the life of a shopping addict too easy.
- Refinery29. I love their mix of articles.
8) Would you view yourself as extroverted, introverted, or somewhere along the spectrum?
I am such a mix of the two that it’s honestly confusing! I suppose it depends on the situation, my mood, and the people I’m around. I tend to be freakishly friendly in the tasks of my daily life – coffee shops, sidewalks, etc. I even work in retail, so I am always starting conversations with strangers. Oddly enough, though, I am super introverted behind the scenes. I think only my closest friends and family know this about me. I’d rather curl up by myself with a book in my bed than go to a bar any day of the week!
9) What’s your Myers Briggs personality assessment type? Do you think it’s fitting?
In true Haley fashion, I don’t fit into just one of the Myers Briggs personality types. When taking the test several times over my years of schooling, I have been assessed as both INFJ and ENFJ. Those stand for Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging, aka the Protector, and Extraverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging, aka the Giver.
So, the last three are the same (NFJ for both) which makes sense. I am definitely intuitive versus sensing, feeling versus thinking, and judging versus perceiving. However, just as I mentioned in #8 before thinking about Myers Briggs, I am neither a true introvert nor a true extrovert! Libra combo for the win again…
10) Name 3 books or movies that had a profound impact on you.
- Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. – it’s been so long since I’ve read it so the details are murky, but it’s just one of those books that puts your ‘problems’ into perspective. Read my review here.
- Iris and Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me – yes I am cheating and including two documentaries in one, but these two fabulous old ladies have taught me a lot about being yourself and not apologizing for it. Read about them here and here.
- Perks of Being a Wallflower – both book and movie. I cry Every. Damn. Time.
Now for the lovely ladies I am nominating:
Justine from Chi City Chic
Amanda from Anchored to Sunshine
Hannah from The Sunny Side of Things
Chelsea from Pretty Pink and Proper
Questions for my fellow bloggers:
- If you had to choose three words to describe yourself, what would they be?
- If you could be any fictional character, who would it be and why?
- What kind of impact has blogging made on your life?
- What are your top three style must-haves this season?
- What did you think you wanted to be when you “grew up?” How about now?
- If you could only eat two things for the rest of your life, what would they be?
- What do you wish people realized about blogging?
- What is your favorite book?
- What are you currently binge-watching?
- Where is the next destination you’d like to travel to?
Colorfully Yours,
Haley
2 Comments
Love this so much! Thank you for the nomination! Happy we found each other in this whirlwind world of blogging. I will keep this chain going 🙂
I’m so happy we did too!! You’re so welcome 🙂