Liebster

Jess recently did this thing called the Liebster Award. That thing entails posting eleven things about myself, then answering eleven questions. I warn you here and now that this will be a long post. I regret nothing.

Eleven things about me!

(Totally doesn't call for an exclamation mark.)

1) When people ask what my favourite movie is, I can tell you without a problem (It's Funny Face). Favourite TV show? Easy: Doctor Who. Favourite band, Cold War Kids. Favourite food? Oh, dear everything, I have no idea, is food a good answer?

Yeah, I have no idea what my favourite food is, and this question gives me so much anxiety. I guess I'll just say jalapeno poppers.

2) I swear to you all, I am going to be in school until the end of time. Yes, I have big ol' ambitions involving a master's degree and a doctorate, but that's not the only reason. I want to learn so much, about so many things. I want to study cold fusion, and chemistry, and oceanography as well as marine biology. All of this will involve a lot of classes, and I am so okay with that.

I just really want to study sharks and deep sea organisms.
Frill sharks are obviously perfect.

3) Last summer, I got really invested in Jersey Shore. I watched those first four seasons in just a couple of months, and I like everyone but Sammi, Ronny, and Mike. Especially not Mike. Also, I love Vinny and Pauly D together, they are my brotp.

4) I'm totally a grown-up, obviously, but I have four cartoon movies in my DVD collection. They're all childhood favourites, and I do watch them regularly, and you can't ever keep me from watching Thumbelina  or The Iron Giant.

5) I love going to shows because I love the music—most of the time. Most of the bands where I live are hardcore bands, though, and I'm not one for hardcore.  But I love hardcore shows. The music is incredibly loud, the crowd is rowdy and exuberant, and it's just sensory overload. Plus, some of the nicest people I've ever met are in hardcore bands, so there's that bonus.

Casey's good at this stuff.

6) I will never delete the old, stupid pictures on my Facebook profile. Or my Myspace profile, but that one's moot since I can't even remember my old url. I love looking back and laughing at myself. That's also why I read old journals and all of that. I don't take myself very seriously anymore, and I'm glad that I don't. Now that I don't I swear, I love me!

So deep.

7) I was a Girl Scout for quite a while. Well, a couple of years. That's the most exciting part of that, but I do wish that my nieces were Girl Scouts, too. So... Yeah.

8) I like drawing, and that seems obvious. But, among all things known in this universe, I love drawing hands most of all.

9) I absolutely want to learn to play the violin. I actually have quite a long list of instruments I'd like to learn, but violin is probably my favourite instrument. I've actually gotten into a new genera (they call it post rock, I just call it pretty instrumental stuff) because of it, because it's just so gorgeous.

10) I see lots of people making funny faces, and when their faces aren't that silly, I just feel extraordinarily smug. This is one of those things I'm really, really good at.

11) I'm simultaneously an adventurous and picky eater. There are a lot of things I don't like (rice, beans, ham, caramel, and pineapple come to mind), but I love trying new things. I'm currently busy pestering Erika to try Thai and Indian with me, since I haven't tried either before, and I really want to.

And can I change my favourite food answer to gyros? I'm only in it for the tzatziki.

And now for those questions.

1) When you find a new blog in the sea of blogs, what are the characteristics that make you follow it? I like good pictures, of course, but that's honestly not the biggest draw for me. Good content is nice, too, but above all, I love writing style. I generally prefer "smaller" blogs to their counterparts because these smaller writers can basically talk about whatever they want, and however they want. Jess is so subtly snarky, and Sian is very heartfelt, and Dani writes as though writing notes to her best friends. Writing style can make up for lame pictures in your bedroom (sorry, guys) and, well, just about anything!

Remember when I had long hair?

2) Will blogging be the next Myspace, disappearing into obscurity in a few years? I've been blogging for what feels like six thousand years, on a billion different platforms. I suppose everyone else is the same way, and it's been interesting watching everyone go from personal diary-type blogs to, well, more public blogs. It's sort of a world of its own, and there's very nearly a blog for every niche. I think that blogging is just starting to hit its stride and that it'll be around for really quite a while.

3) Have you experienced any negativity on your blog and how did you deal with it? I haven't, and I've been so lucky in that regard. I'm pretty open with what I am—an absurd fat girl parading around in short dresses and stuff, taking mediocre pictures in her bedroom. I mean, my blog calls me out on my ridiculousness. For anyone to come out and say that I'm fat, or that my pictures are so-so (I know, guys),or that my posts are too rambly would be a bit redundant. I know it, and hopefully everyone else knows it. But so far, I've only come across nice folks, and that makes me quite pleased.

Plus, you know those anonymous spam comments? Those are just so nice. They're constantly calling me loved one, saying that I'm amazing, that they have no idea how they ended up there... It's lovely.

4) Which is more important on a personal blog, style or content? I've already lauded writing style, but I think that, in this case, that fits in a bit more with content. You can have an incredibly sleek and beautiful blog, and it will be great, but I'll still prefer bloggers who actually make an effort to keep my interest. I think that big bloggers take their readers' interest for granted, but at that point, they can. Karla of Karla's Closet rarely talks about her personal life, but she can get away with it because her pictures are just gorgeous. But those bloggers who do both? Oh, they just make my heart flutter.

5) What appeal do smaller, non-professional blogs have to readers, if any? I'm just going to casually spend all of my time talking about how much I love blogs with a more personal touch. Smaller bloggers can talk about what they like, however they like, and you can really get an interesting look at their lives and feel like you know them. You can get blissfully sarcastic writers, or writers who are more poets than bloggers, and it just makes things so interesting! Plus, they're more apt to share pictures of their day as a whole than just outfit shots.

But the absolute best part  is that smaller bloggers are better able to communicate with their readers. No matter how personal a professional blogger's blog might seem, there's still a bit of a gulf. They're almost unattainable. You read their blogs like you would a magazine. It's all very distancing.

6) Do you find blogging fuels your consumerism? For the most part, I'd say...it does, and it doesn't. I don't shop solely for my blog, but it certainly does play a part. I find myself wanting to dress more nicely than I probably would otherwise. So, I guess what I mean is that blogging plays a role, but it isn't my entire motivation.

7) Do blogging and social media ever make you feel like you are living life through a camera? Not really, no. Yeah, I take pictures of everything all the time, but it isn't necessarily for my blog or social media. I love taking pictures of things because I'm a really sentimental person. So long as I have at least one picture for the day, I'm happy. The blog and social media are sort of afterthoughts. I guess I like to use pictures as a sort of narrative aid for both things, but in the end, the pictures are for me, and not for the Internet. I hope you all feel lucky for getting them at all. (Just kidding.)

Sentimental fool? Me?
Okay.

8) People evolve all the time, do you ever feel the need to edit old posts? Pfft, never. I genuinely mean that, too. I posted some recipes and crafts and things in the beginning, trying to figure out precisely what I wanted to talk about, and while I think I've finally found my niche, those are practically my roots. And this idea goes hand-in-hand with untagging Facebook pictures and stuff like that. There might be people out there who do all of that stuff because they take themselves too seriously. That is quite obviously not the case with me. Hopefully I've grown as a blogger, and the only way for me to measure that growth is to actually see the beginning, right?

Yeah.

Oh, my first OOTD! Awww.
(We all know I'll be wearing this when the weather gets nicer.)

9) Do you ever feel shy to tell people about your blog and why? I do, actually. Granted, I feel shy about telling anyone about anything I do, simply because I'm neurotic, and I feel like this fits in with that. But more than that, there's sort of a stigma to blogging, I think. People don't take it very seriously unless they actually are involved with a blog. It's sort of like this comic by the Oatmeal. Of course, he talks about online comics, but there's a connection, okay?

Anyway, long story short, I do feel shy talking about my blog.

10) How much do you think about your online identity and how do you decide what is too much information to share? Here's the thing: my online identity is just a vaguely better version of myself. I'm slightly more confident, but that's because I'm better at writing than I am at talking. Other than that, it's basically the same. The things I talk about here are the same as those I talk about in reality. I talk about my daily life on a very regular basis, and often talk about the people I spend that time with. With me, there is so little that is off-limits. Of course, I haven't revealed precisely where I live (there's only one place where you can find that, and it's still pretty private, so there!), or what school I attend (right?), or stuff like that. Ohter than that, it's all on the table.

Other people, however—that's different. I've only mentioned one of my nieces by her actual name, and she's twelve, so she's basically a real person. I've never mentioned last names that aren't my own. Others' privacy is clearly more of an issue than my own, and that's the way it should be.

11) What is the most rewarding part of blogging? I haven't gotten many people calling me inspiring, or any of that, and I feel like I'd be flattering myself to think that I actually am an inspiration somehow. To be completely honest, though, the most rewarding part is the most narcissistic. I love knowing that someone, somewhere, has looked at my blog and read what I have to say. Writing is one of those things I'm most proud of, and that anyone, let alone strangers have actually found it even remotely interesting is incredible to me. I'm so completely grateful to my readers for allowing me to indulge myself like this. Thank you, so much!

And that, my dear, lovely folks, is that. We all know a little more about me, and that's always fun.

I want to know what you guys think on all of this, and I'd love to see you answer these questions, too! Let me know if you're going to do all of this ridiculousness, and I will be very excited.

Although, come on. I'm always excited.