Friday, July 7, 2017

Unique Blogger Award



These last two weeks have been long as.  I’ve been going to work an hour early every day and I can literally feel my soul dying from missing that extra hour of sleep I usually have.  Until I got a message from the gorgeous Asha (www.lifebyashasingh.com), telling me that she nominated me for the Unique Blogger award. 

Fun fact: I actually have a degree in International Relations and Diplomacy.  When I stumbled across Asha’s blog, I knew that this was a girl I could totally be friendies with (despite the fact that I’m old enough to be her weird, older cousin that everyone has).  Asha’s blog has such a fresh approach to politics and current affairs and she makes it super easy to understand and relate to world events.  I get that not everybody is into politics and stuff, but if you need some ammo for a dinner party conversation or want to impress somebody without having to spend three days in the library, www.lifebyashasingh.com is your best bet. 

Just a quick disclaimer: this post gets super deep and touches on a lot of sensitive areas.  I don’t talk about this stuff in general (not even to my family), so be prepared for an utter outpouring of my heart. 

The rules of the Unique Blogger award are simple:
1.    Share the link of the blogger who nominated you.
2.    Answer the questions.
3.    Nominate 8 – 13 bloggers for the same award (this will be difficult since I don’t even like 8 – 13 people in real life)
4.    Ask them three questions. 

Asha’s questions:

1.    What is/was your favourite cartoon?
If you’re my Facebook friend and you’ve gone scrolling through my “profile pictures” album, you’ll know the answer to this already. 
(If you’re not my friend, you’re welcome to add me)



Kim Possible was everything back in the day.  What’s not to like about a talented over-achiever who saved the world and still got her straight-A’s? 

Ironically, this question was posed to me about a week ago by my little person, who is 9, except her question was more like “what was your favourite kids’ channel?”  She was absolutely baffled by the fact that we did not have kids’ channels, but rather kids’ programs that ran from like 1:00pm to 5:00pm in the afternoon and the rest of the time was “adult” TV.  Oh, you’re on school holidays?  Bauer cooking informercials and Clientele Life funeral policies for you!

I digress...

2.    What is the definition of beauty to you?
One of my favourite quotes ever is by Roald Dahl.



I mean, let’s not underestimate the importance of a good skincare routine too, but I think people don’t recognise how important it actually is to be beautiful on the inside first. 

I don’t mean just being a good person or being kind to others.  I mean being kind to yourself first and having the right attitude in life.  I live with severe depression and anxiety and for a long time, I was undiagnosed and did not quite comprehend the weight of my illness.  I despised myself: my body, my features, my life, my circumstances.  I weighed myself without fail every single morning and would have a bowl of oats in the morning, a Coke Zero during the day and dinner with my family at night – the lower the calories the better.  I planned my surgical procedures for when I was rich: a nose job for my tip and a chin implant for my face butt chin.  I hated myself so much that I started projecting that hatred outwards and lost many friends in the process. 

Five years later, I understand Roald Dahl’s quote on a completely different level.  Once you start to love yourself and let the light in, beauty truly does radiate.  I’ve seen how a simple, genuine smile can generate the exact same response and make someone’s day.  I’ve seen how once I stopped looking for the flaws in myself, I stopped looking for them in everyone else too.  I’ve seen that beauty is everything that is good in the world.  Beauty is love and kindness and compassion. 

And a good skincare routine. 

3.    When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be everything.  I wanted to be a pilot, a doctor, a marine biologist (every girl in the 90’s/00’s had their dolphin phase), an author, a fashion designer, a journalist, a make-up artist (surprise, surprise), a historian, a librarian, a museum curator and a diplomat.  The truth is, I just wanted to immerse myself in knowledge and creativity.  


I actually can’t think of a very good outro for this post – that second question has really shaken me.  Thanks, Asha.  Be sure to see my Instagram post for this article to see the bloggers I’ve nominated (it’s not going to be 8 – 13, though). 

I would like to invite you, as my readers, to also answer my questions for the bloggers in my comments down below.  My questions are:
1. Number One Go-To makeup/beauty product of all time and why?
2. Someone in your life (that you know personally) that you admire the most and why?
3. What is your hidden talent?

Wishing you love and light ♡♡♡