January 13, 2015October 26, 2018 Kelsey Horton

My Liebster Award and Shining the Light on Others

Uncategorized

Rachel Stolzman (an amazing writer at rachelstolzman.wordpress.com and author of The Sign for Drowning) nominated my blog for a “Liebster Award.” I didn’t even know that awards for blogs existed – thanks Rachel!

The Liebster Blog award celebrates blogs that enter new territory. I often wonder what genre I am, or what I even write about. I’ve been blogging for almost three years, but when people ask “What’s your blog about?” I still don’t know what to say. It’s an honor to have my own little corner of the internet, and I’m glad my words have helped people along their way.

The award involves answering the following questions & sharing 11 random facts about myself. I’m just answering the questions, assuming that random facts will find their way into my answers.

It feels a little off-kilter to write so much about myself without a larger theme behind the words, but onwards we go:

 

1. What is your ideal vacation?

Somewhere foreign-feeling and dazzling. I am not a still person. I don’t want to sit for long hours on the beach, I don’t want to relax in my hotel room – I want to roam and laugh and cram in as many activities as possible, determined by the personal recommendations from friends and locals.

 

2. What was your first job?

Babysitting kids in the basement of a suburban Midwestern church every Thursday night while their parents attended a teen parent support group upstairs. I was fourteen and got to watch the Lion King on VHS, teach impromptu ballet classes, and try to be a positive influence to dozens of children during a dark and tumultuous time in my personal life.

Fun synchronicity: I had this job years before we knew my sister would be a teen mother, and now she is the leader of this same support group.

 

3. What motivates you to post on your blog?

The desire to express myself without waiting for another entity to decide whether my work is good enough to publish. The knowingness that if I die tomorrow, these words will be my legacy. The itch to create ripples NOW, today, urgently, inspiring the people I love to unravel their authentic selves and have the courage to be complicated.

 

4. Name a book that you recently finished reading.

Discover The Power Within You by Eric Butterworth. (It was okay, but I loved his book Spiritual Economics)

 

5. What is your opinion of reality TV shows?

I liked Whale Wars and America’s Psychic Challenge – I imagine some are entertaining and some aren’t.

 

6. How do you feel when a snowstorm hits your area and everything is cancelled for the day?

Glorious. From a lifetime of living around Chicago, I have lots of snow day memories – indoor picnics with my nephews, puzzles on the floor with my roommates, sledding in my hometown wearing Viking helmets…

 

7. If you could obtain dual citizenship in another country, which county would you chose, and why?

I’ve only been to the US and Panama so far – not enough countries to have a solid opinion yet.

 

8. What is your pet peeve with WordPress?

I don’t think I can make my fonts bigger without upgrading to a different version of WordPress, so my words look tiny and cramped on the screen. And I wish I could have Google Analytics instead of WordPress Stats, which is also impossible on the version that I have now.

 

9. Recently, I saw a study claiming that people who read fiction tend to be more empathetic. This study has generated controversy in my household. What is your opinion about this “finding?”

Sounds believable!

 

10. Did you believe in Santa Claus when you were a child?

I was the awkward child whose 5th grade teacher broke the news to her (in front of everyone) that Santa wasn’t real. So… yes.

 

11. How do you prefer to learn about world news – through the internet? Through the television? Through a newspaper or magazine?

I have some news sites up in the background when I’m at work during the day as a connection to the outside world.

 

Here are some bloggers that I’m nominating for a Liebster Award. I will contact them individually, but anyone looking for fresh reading material should check out the following:

 

innerbalanceouterjoy.wordpress.com/ — Tatia is a new blogger with big dreams and experience as a writer, life coach, and healer.

familycanbfit.wordpress.com/ — Emily was my very first yoga teacher and shares about fitness, parenting, teaching, and her inner journey.

shebegan.com – Jillie is setting the world on fire through women’s empowerment, in the US and Peru and beyond.

sarahkmoir.wordpress.com/ — Sarah is a voracious reader who absorbs all sorts of knowledge and then poetically makes sense of it for us – she has a super informative newsletter in addition to this blog.

poweredgeyoga.blogspot.com – Michelle is a sunny mentor/businesswoman/yoga teacher with spirit and smiles and musings.

 

Peace & Gratitude,

Kelsey