For me, one of the best parts of being nominated for an award is the reason behind it.

I love (and am humbled by) the fact that someone nominated you because they read something on your blog that made them smile or resonated, touched and inspired them in some way.

So when I was nominated by Mortisha from It’s a Girl Dream for the Blue Sea Black cat award and read about who it’s for, my soul did little start jumps.

This award is for bloggers who strive to write for everybody, and no matter how many viewers they get, make an impact on a reader. This award is an expression of gratitude to the nominee. It should be awarded to anyone that you choose deserves it and it doesn’t mean that they must have hundreds of followers and likes.

When I started this blog, I had little idea of where it would take me. I wrote because I needed to write, I needed to share my story and had a desire to encourage people to see how fabulous they truly were.

I wanted to be everyone’s personal cheerleader.

I feel I’m starting to have real connections now, through the comments people leave on my posts and my tribe is growing. All I ever wanted was for people to feel inspired to see how beautiful life can be when you live authentically.

And if people are liking what I’m writing about – then I feel encouraged to continue to create the best content I possibly can.

Anyway, Oscar moment over; back to the award…

The rules:

Anybody nominated can nominate up to seven other bloggers.
Anybody nominated answers three questions. The questions you ask while nominating can be any three questions. If any questions asked are offending or simply do not want to be answered, the nominee does not have to answer them to earn the award.

The questions I am to answer:

What is your main source of inspiration when writing your blog?

My life so far. After hitting rock bottom after the death of my younger brother, I spent a lot of time and energy figuring out who I was without him. When I found my smile again I began sharing my story with others who had lost all sense of self and needed a little pick me up…and the blog was a natural progression of that.

Do you see blogging as a side hobby or a future career?

At the moment it’s a hobby (that takes up as many hours as my actual job!) but it would be an amazing thing if I could write and inspire people full time and get paid for it – magic wand anyone?

Which blogger has made the biggest impact on your life?

This is a tough question! When I first started looking for ways to rebuild my life, I read blogs by amazing women like Gala Darling, Marie Forleo and Danielle LaPorte. I watched their videos, bought their books and soaked up every journaling exercise they suggested, all in the name of healing myself.

I still follow these people, but for me the ones who now have the biggest impact on my life are the people I am connecting with through my blog. The people who write about their struggles with mental health and anxiety, the people who travel, the people who share their photographs and their lives, the people who write to inspire you to be kind. I guess I am inspired by what others write about – the real day to day stuff and how they want to help us by sharing their stories.

My nominees:

Floating Speck

Benjiman Grant

The Melodramatic Confessions of Carla Louise

Petra Omoregie Caroline

Anyone else who is reading this – you are worthy.

My three questions to these nominees:

What is the thing you enjoy most about blogging?

What is the one thing, starting a blog has taught you about yourself?

If you could wave a magic wand, what is the one wish you would have in regards to your blog?

Cannot wait to read your posts – I nominated you all because you are all amazing and I believe everyone should have a chance to earn this award.

Continue doing what you do, they way you do it. You are inspiring someone, somewhere.

Nicky xo