Liebster Award

Hello, everyone! One of my good friends (Catherine!) recently nominated me for a Liebster Award, which is an award that is given to bloggers with a small following, but great potential. Bloggers nominate other bloggers, so it's a great way to spread some love! As part of the rules of the award, each nominated blog must answer the questions given to them, so here goes! 

1. What blog or blogger inspired you to start blogging? 

Honestly, there's not really one blog that encouraged me to start blogging. I started because I was attending an out-of-state college and I was experiencing some significant roommate problems (to the point where I actually was forced to move out of my dorm). I was frustrated because the residence life office at my school brushed off my concerns, and I really just wanted someone to listen to me, for once! After some soul searching, I decided to transfer schools, which spurred my first blog post. I wanted to share my story on a public platform so all my friends at school and at home would know what was going on without having to track me down to get the story. After I was started, I was really inspired by History in High Heels. This girl is great! She is a doctoral student documenting her adventures in academia and fashion; two things I hold near and dear to my heart. 

2.What is it about blogging that keeps you going, what keeps you blogging?

My desire to tell my story keeps me blogging. I'm pretty much just blundering my way through college life, and I post on my blog to give others some inspiration. Perhaps, in the future, some confused biology major with a passion for a good J. Crew sale (if this describes you, we are definitely soul sisters and you should hit me up ASAP) will stumble upon my blog and have some of her questions answered. 

3. What song would you consider your theme song? 

My theme song changes on a daily basis. Continuity is a problem for me when it comes to this sort of thing. As of right now, it's Glitter and Be Gay from Candide. This song is all about making the best of your situation while dressing as fabulously as possible, which is basically my life in a nutshell. 

4. What would you say is your all time favorite post? 

I'm not 100% sure what this question is asking, so I'm going to take some artistic license. The favorite post I've written is Transitions, because it was really hard for me to write. That post was pretty much a letter to myself, telling me that it's okay to not have everything planned out, and that sometimes, we just need to back up a little bit, change directions, and keep marching forward. As for favorite posts from other bloggers, the list is really long and I can't think of one that really sticks out at me. 

5. Lipstick or lipgloss? 

Lipstick all the way. I'm a firm believer that a girl should have a signature lip color. After all, a girl's bag should be big enough to carry the book she's currently reading, her signature lip color, and a can of pepper spray! My personal shade is Speak Your Mind from the Marvelous Moxie Line from Bare Minerals. 

6. Writing or sharing a story with pictures? 

Both! I choose pictures with snappy captions. 

7. What book has inspired you most and why? 

This one is hard too. Asking me to choose between my favorite books is like asking me to choose which puppy to save from falling off a cliff. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is pretty inspiring, right now. It chock full of awesome quotes like: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” Plus, there are hobbits and elves, and it just doesn't get better than that. The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss, is pretty inspiring too. "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better, it's not." That's deep stuff. Plus, it's really encouraged me to pursue environmental science in college. Not going to lie, I'd love to be the Lorax and speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues. 

8. Diary or no diary?

No diary. I had a diary phase, but that was over in 5th grade. (I blog now. All the cool kids are doing it.)

9. What would you consider your biggest weakness and why? 

I'm a perfectionist. I like to win and I want to get a perfect score (on everything!!) and look good doing it. Unfortunately, I've been smacked in the face by the real world and have realized that perfection isn't possible. This is a hard pill to swallow and coming to terms with this is a work in progress. 

10. What is your passion? 

I have been waiting for someone to ask me this! My passion is sustainable agriculture! And Disney. A really weird combination, I know. I actually hope to work for the Disney company, as they do some serious awesomeness with sustainable agriculture research and conservation education. Seriously, if you want to further discuss the awesomeness that is earth-friendly farming, I'll meet you at Starbucks and we can chat. 

11. Where do you see yourself in 15 years? 

Hopefully working on making the world a better place through the development of environmentally friendly living practices. I'd also like to be living in Cinderella Castle with a dog, some cows, and a killer shoe collection. A girl can dream. 

Thanks for sticking with me, folks! I know this was a lot to get through! Here's my list of nominees: 

East Coast Diaries

Marisa at Marisa Alejandra Dew

Delaney at The True

Nominees, here's how this works. Answer the 11 questions below and then nominate other blogs with less than 200 followers who you feel are deserving of the Liebster Award. Have fun!! 

1. What inspired you to start blogging? Why do you continue?

2. Who is your style icon? Why?

3. Top 5 guilty pleasures, go! 

4. If you were forced to move to a foreign country with nothing but what you could fit in a carry-on, what would you bring and why? 

5. What superpower would you have? 

6. Everyone has a happy place. What's yours?

7. Where do you do most of your blogging from? 

8. Do you have a signature accessory? What is it? 

9. Beach or lake? 

10. What are you passionate about? What makes you excited? 

A Shout Out to the Selfie

I take selfies and I declare that with pride. I am, however, a selfie convert. I used to browse Instagram with disdain every Sunday as I scrolled past countless #selfiesunday posts, and would roll my eyes when I came upon albums of them on my Facebook newsfeed. The word itself was enough to make me shudder, but I have now seen the light. Selfies (in moderation, like all good things) are awesome! Stop the selfie hate!

In today's media, women are mostly represented by photoshopped white models with unattainable figures and flawless skin. The fashion and beauty industries spend billions of dollars to make women feel bad about themselves. After all, women who do not feel like they fit into the standards of beauty are the ones that will buy hair relaxers, laser hair removal and spray tans.This is quite the blow to an average women's self esteem. But, never fear, the selfie is here to take back representation and put back into the hands where it belongs-- the hands of the everyday woman. The thing that is so great about the selfie is that it helps reshape those standards of beauty by celebrating normal people, freckles, curls, wrinkles and all.

Selfies are created and controlled by the individuals taking them, rather than the beauty industry that sets unattainable standards of what we should look like. With the selfie, women do not have to rely on the media for representation. They are in control of what they look like and how they are represented. This is especially important for queer women and women of color who don't often see images of people who look like them in the media. The rise of the selfie shifts beauty from unrealistic, photoshopped models to something more realistic, which is a positive change for everyone.  

Selfies are little snapshots of pride as well as celebrations of the self. In moderation, they are a great way for women and girls to shake their fists at the beauty industry and take back their representation. So, next time you are scrolling through the influx of #selfiesunday Instagram posts, I encourage you to hold back the urge to roll your eyes and give a big shout out to the importance of the selfie.