My Liebster Award | Answers

A Massive Thank You To Kirsty Ralph For Nominating Me To Do The Liebster Award Blog ... It's A Fantastic Way To Discover New Blogs And People ... Follow Kirsty's Blog And Twitter Below...

Kirsty's nominated questions:

1. Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging as a way to share the things I love with a wide variety of people. I have always been quite a shy person, and felt like I have had to put on a front to be accepted by other people. I've always had a passion for writing and other creative endeavours, but never had the confidence to share them with other people. I started reading a blog by a girl called Louise, who is famously known as Sprinkle of Glitter a while back, and was in awe at how much body confidence she had. Slowly, I've been building up my confidence and keeping all my blog ideas and items in notebooks, until now when I feel confident enough to start sharing my passions with the rest of the world. I've started using YouTube as a way of putting myself out there and gaining confidence being silly or talking in front of millions of people. I want to share the things I enjoy most, to hopefully bring the same joy to other peoples lives, and show shy, body conscious people that they too can be anything they want to be.

2. What is your favourite fragrance?

At the moment I'm using the Taylor Swift fragrance 'Wonderstruck' all the time. I'm much more of a fan of fruity and floral scents than musky scents. I used to have Vera Wang's 'Princess' perfume, but I ran out of that before Christmas and haven't had a chance to get another bottle. I also love the smell of Vera Wang's newer perfume, 'Princess Night' which is stunning. I got my Mum Elizabeth Arden's 'Red Door' for a present recently as well which I love the smell of - it's a much more mature smell but is still really nice.

3. What is your dream career?

When I was deciding what to do with my life when I was in sixth form, I really wanted to be something creative like an artist or a stylist. The school I went to, however, was very driven in applying yourself into languages and science, so I went down the route of following many of my overachieving peers and opted to apply for Architecture at university, studying Maths with Mechanics, Art and Design, Psychology and English at A-Level. I was so happy to have found a career that I thought, at the time, was acceptable in an overachieving world, that still had that element of design and creativity that I have always loved. Turns out that having a poor science mind doesn't help much when trying to be an architect. I dropped out of university and went back to college, studying Criminology (which was something I had loved doing as part of my Psychology A-Level). I'm now currently finishing my degree in Criminology and Psychology. There is, however, that naggling feeling in the back of my mind that I wish I had done something like product design or fashion design at university or college as I would love to be a stylist or be able to have a sustainable income from blogging and sharing my passion for beauty and fashion especially. I am, however, pursuing my other passion of rehabilitation and care from my degree.

4. What is your all time favourite track?

I don't know why, because it doesn't bare any direct meaning to my life, but I have always found myself feeling emotional and connected to Billy Joel's song, 'Piano Man'. I remember when I was away in Costa Rica for a month in 2007 (at the age of 16), this song, despite not having any connection to my life back home, made me think of my boyfriend at the time and my parents and my friends and made me feel more comfortable being away for so long for the first time with a group of girls from my school.

5. What is your best childhood memory?

One of the things that I have always remembered vividly from my childhood is playing a game with my Nan based on the song 'Gotta Pick A Pocket Or Two' from Oliver. She would sing the song, and I would have to try and sneak her handkerchief from her pocket without her seeing me. I have been cherishing that memory even more as the years have gone on.

6. What was the last book you read?

I recently re-read one of my all time favourite books, 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime' by Mark Haddon after buying my parents tickets to see the play for my Mum's birthday. I love the way this book is written, as it's so different from any other book I've read. Mark Haddon really does capture the inner working of an autistic child's mind and creates a blunt, yet incredibly heart-wrenching story from it. It's also one of the only books that I have ever read and not been able to work out the twist, and was shocked when it was revealed!

7. What is the best makeup brand?

I have always been passionate about Mac makeup, and also Rimmel London, but recently I have found that MaxFactor has been working the best for me and has given me amazing coverage and colour!

8. Who is your favourite superhero?

Most people would go with the mainstream...'Oh I like Batman...I like Spiderman'...but mine is a little different. I love Hawk Eye from the Avengers as he is just your normal guy, but with an amazing talent - not a superpower that he was born with or given. I know, I know, Batman doesn't have any power and has a sad life story. Yes, but he was left with a ridiculous amount of money from his parents...Anyone can be Hawk Eye, and that's what I love about him.

9. What is your life motto?

The motto that I currently live my life by is the same motto I have been following for the past two and a bit years, even since reading (and apologies for going back to this) Sprinkle of Glitter's first 'Motivational Monday' blog: 'Big things often have small beginnings'.

10. Who inspires you?

Once again, Sprinkle of Glitter (Louise) has been a massive influence in my life. But I am most inspired, and I'm sorry if it sounds cliché, but my Mum has been an amazing role model to me. My parents had me quite late on in life, yet have always been there for me, being more best friends than parents. My Mum has shown me that you can achieve a lot if you put your mind to it and has honestly taught me how to be a nice and better person. She is going through a lot at the moment, yet she keeps strong and is alwasy honest, which I admire.

11. If you could time travel, where would you go?

I would probably go back to the 1970's - not very exciting I know, compared to going to the future or going back to see the dinosaurs, but they had such amazing music, and it would be incredible to see some of the musicians I listen to today who are no longer with us live. I also love the daring fashion and makeup choices - it would be so much fun!

Eleven Random Facts About Me;

1. My hobby is tenpin bowling, which I have been doing since I was five years old and have competed nationally at.

2. I went to an all girls secondary school, and stayed on there for sixth form, although this is something I regret doing in part.

3. I am originally from Wolverhampton, from a small village right on the outskirts called Tettenhall.

4. I come across as quite confident, but most of the time I'm centre of attention I'm shaking.

5. I have never shared my love of fashion and beauty with people as I feel like I'm not as good as they are.

6. I have constantly struggled with weight my whole life.

7. I was bullied from the age of eight to the age of fifteen at school before settling down into a friendship group.

8. I owe a lot to my friends, especially Ally and Sarah, who I don't think I would have survived high school without.

9. I am terrible with money, and have been close to being dangerously in debt a number of times, though this is something I'm working on.

10. I struggled with depression a lot when I was younger, and still do occasionally now.

11. I tried to commit suicide when I was fourteen years old after being bullied for so long and framed for breaking someones property at school by hanging myself with a tie in the cloakroom, but the coat-hook broke off. It was at that moment that I decided that I wasn't going to take anyones bullying any more and realised that I wasn't the person that they made me out to be, I was the person I wanted to be, and they couldn't take that away from me.

My Questions for my Nominees;

1. Why did you start blogging?

2. What is your most vivid dream ever?

3. What beauty essentials could you not live without?

4. Who has been your biggest inspiration?

5. What was the first blog you ever read?

6. What has been your favourite fashion trend?

7. If you could live in one decade, which would it be?

8. What was the last book you read?

9. What is your guilty pleasure when procrastinating?

10. What is your dream career?

11. If you could interview one person for your blog, who would it be?

The Rules;

1. Thank the person who nominated you on your blog.

2. Link back to the blogger who awarded you.

3. Complete the award post of your blog.

4. Nominate up to five bloggers who have less than 3000 followers to receive the award.

5. Include 11 facts about yourself.

6. Ask 11 questions (changing some from your post) to those you are nominating!

Thank you for reading this post, I hope you have learned some more about me as a blogger and as a person. I was scared at releasing this blog firstly, as I have mentioned in here some things which I haven't even divulged to my closest friends or my family. The only way I am going to connect and build up my confidence is to be completely honest with the people who read my blog or watch my YouTube videos and let them know that things do get better and that feeling like crap is normal from time to time. There is always someone there for you, even when you feel your loneliest.