Yesterday I got some news that just really made my day, and the timing was quite perfect. After spending a lot of the day giving my blog a bit of a makeover and planning some of the posts I hope to publish soon, I got the notification that Jen from Strictly (Personal) Business had nominated me for the Liebster Award! I want to thank Jen for making my day and really giving me the confidence boost I needed to devote more time to my blog this year.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this award (as I’ll admit I was before receiving my nomination) here are the rules:

So let’s get started with 11 random facts about me:

1. I studied abroad in Seville, Spain for a semester
2. My two biggest fears are snakes and heights
3. I played violin and piano when I was younger, but stopped after middle school
4. I was in theater and choir in high school, and I was in a jazz choir for two years in college
5. I have never broken a bone
6. I was an extra in a TV show once in high school
7.  I have lived in 8 different houses all within the same city (my parents love to move)
8. I am extremely indecisive about almost everything in life
9. I am a self-proclaimed Harry Potter nerd
10. I have a major sweet tooth
11. My spirit animal is a deer

And now for the questions Jen gave me to answer:

1. How long have you been blogging and what made you stick with it? I started blogging two years ago (almost to the day) to document my semester abroad, and picked it back up last summer. I have had trouble sticking to it at times but I always come back to it because I love writing and I love the community of bloggers I have found here.
2. What’s your favorite social media platform? Right now I am really loving Instagram because it is so simple but still allows for plenty of creativity.
3. Do you prefer books or movies? I love both. I definitely prefer reading a book before I see the movie.
4. What is your favorite quote? I like Eleanor Roosevelt’s quote “Do one thing every day that scares you.” That is something I hope to embody this year.
5. Who or what inspires you? I am inspired by a lot of people, mostly my family and friends because I feel like I do a great job of surrounding myself with awesome people.
6. What’s your favorite thing about blogging? I love that it allows me to express myself and share my thoughts and opinions with others.
7. Where do you wish you could live? Lately I have been really missing Seville. I loved living there for the semester I was there, and I would definitely live there again (or at least visit). 
8. What are you currently reading? (Book, blog, magazine, etc.) John Green’s book An Abundance of Katherines. 
9. What’s your favorite food? I’m a sucker for tortilla chips
10. What’s a piece of advice you would give to someone who wants to start a blog? Don’t overthink it too much. It’s easy to start second guessing yourself, but if it’s what you want to do you should just go for it!
11. What’s the number one thing that you want to do in 2016? Be more fearless. I will be posting a New Years Resolutions blog soon that will explain how I intend on doing this, so stay tuned for that!

And now for my nominees!

These are people that I enjoy reading and chatting with through comments. Not only do I think they have great blogs, but they have shown support for my blog in some way, big or small!

1. Confetti and Curves 
2. Ashley Nicole
3. look_itsLaura
4. Lisa Tiller
5. DreamerSince98
6. Within Reality
7. Lainey Loves Life
8. gojenbefit
9. Away With Fairies
10. Brooke’s Blog
11. The Frosty Perspective

Questions for my nominees:

1. What was your first ever blog post about?
2. Do you have any routines when blogging? (Certain music you like to listen to, place you feel most comfortable blogging, etc)
3. If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be?
4. Besides blogging, what are some of your hobbies/interests?
5. If you could travel back in time, what year or decade would you choose to travel to?
6. Do you prefer watching movies or TV shows?
7. What types of blogs do you most enjoy reading?
8. What animal best represents you and why?
9. What is one of your resolutions for 2016?
10. What was your dream job growing up?
11. How do you hope to change or improve your blog this year?

I really hope my nominees consider spreading the blogging love and writing a post of their own about this award. Thanks again, Jen, for nominating me! 🙂