Tag: Blog Award

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A Blog Award: The Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award

During my two-week hiatus from blogging, I was nominated for the Ideal Inspiration Blog Award by Em at Invincible Woman on Wheels through this post. Thanks, Em, for the nomination!

Here are the rules for the award:

  1. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.
  2. Answer your nominator’s questions.
  3. Nominate up to 9 other bloggers.
  4. Notify your nominees.
  5. Ask 5 questions.
  6. List the rules and display the “Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award ” logo.

These were the questions that Em gave me and all the other people she nominated. My answers are in bold:

  1. Where would you be right now if you could be anywhere? Jerusalem. It’s a place I’d love to go one day just because it’s an important city for multiple major religions. Of course, even without COVID-19, I’m hesitant to go there because of safety concerns.
  2. What is the best concert you’ve ever been to, or if you’ve not been to a concert, which is the concert you’d most like to go to? I’ve never been to a concert! And, honestly, I’m not sure what concert I’d like to go to, as I’ve never been much into concerts. I’m more likely to go to a baseball game. Readers should feel free to give me recommendations in the comments below!
  3. What would your perfect day consist of if you could do anything? My perfect day would start with a breakfast that includes bacon and chocolate chip pancakes with real maple syrup (none of this “breakfast syrup” nonsense that is served at many restaurants). If soccer or Formula One is on during breakfast, all the better. I’d follow that up with a short walk—walks are centering for me spiritually, as I am of the praying type and walks are a time I often pray. Then, during the day, I would just spend quality time with friends and/or family—it doesn’t matter a whole lot what I’m doing, though (as long as it’s not illegal or so boring it puts me to sleep). I don’t need a yacht or a Ferrari to have a “perfect day.”
  4. What would be your dream 3-course meal? That’s a tough call because there’s so much food I love to eat! My answer also depends on the season I’m in, as during the summer I prefer food that’s cooler (as opposed to hot comfort food in the winter). My ideal summer meal would include fresh mozzarella and tomatoes for the appetizer, breaded chicken with a bruschetta-like topping[1] for the main course, and tartufo[2] for dessert—basically, three of the four courses I can get at my favorite Italian restaurant. My ideal winter meal includes a macaroni and cheese appetizer, steak and ale pie as the entrée,[3] and a hot fudge brownie with a scoop of ice cream on top for dessert.
  5. Let’s spread a little more blog love: Who are 5 bloggers you would recommend for me to check out? I will highlight those bloggers among the nominees below!

Here are my nominees (in no particular order). Given the current climate with racial injustice in the United States, I want to highlight bloggers who are using their blogs to advocate for racial justice in their own ways, and do so regardless of whether any or all of these blogs will do their own award posts:

  1. The Ghetto Activist: If you want a blog that educates and challenges you on Black history, White privilege, and racism, this is a blog I highly recommend. Even though I was a history major in college, posts such as the one on the East St. Louis Race Riot in 1917 have educated me on things I knew nothing about before.
  2. Black Feminist Collective: If you want to follow a blogger (well, more like a set of bloggers) that is dedicated to intersectional feminism, and feminism that includes people of color, this is one to follow.
  3. We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident: When I was early in my blogging journey, Xena’s blog was one of the first ones I found that dedicated itself to anti-racism work.
  4. Katelyn Skye Bennett: This blog is currently doing a series called “Intersected,” which explores how racism touches various aspects of peoples’ lives. I highly recommend that people read this series, as it really informs people on how racism can touch us in ways some of us may not think of.
  5. Fakequity: As with Xena’s, this is a blog with a major focus on anti-racism that I’ve been following for a long time.

These are the questions for my nominees:

  1. How did you get into blogging?
  2. What made you interested in blogging on the subject(s) you blog about?
  3. How, if at all, did the pandemic change the way you blogged?
  4. How, if at all, did the recent attention on racial injustice change the way you blogged?
  5. If you could give just one piece of advice to a new blogger, what would it be?

[1] This bruschetta recipe should give an explanation of what bruschetta is: https://www.food.com/recipe/best-ever-bruschetta-443987. The difference, of course, is that instead of bread on the bottom, it’s a breaded chicken on the bottom.

[2] Tartufo is an Italian dessert that has a chocolate shell on the outside, and then on the inside two or more flavors of ice cream plus a frozen fruit or fruit syrup in the center.

[3] I feel very nostalgic about this particular dish. My family would visit a late family member in York, England, and the first place we’d visit for food after a long flight would often be this pub that had amazing steak-and-ale pies. P.S. If you’re looking for food recommendations if you visit York (whenever the pandemic comes to pass), I have a few!

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Blog Wrap-Up: Calendar Year 2019

Around this time of year, many of us are looking back at the year—what has gone well, and what didn’t go as well as intended. As such, I thought it was appropriate that I would do a blog wrap-up for 2019, the first time I’m doing such a thing on Blind Injustice.

It was a year when I made some changes to when, and how, I shared my content. I decided to start re-publishing old blog posts sometimes (an idea I got from some other blogs that did the same), decided to change my blog post schedule, and actively use Pinterest as a way to promote my blog. For a person who has, at times in the past, been scared of change, that’s a lot of change. However, these changes have been for the better—re-publishing old blog posts has given my newer readers an opportunity to read some of my older content, my changed blog post schedule works better for me (and many of my readers, I think) than the schedule I used to have, and my post on bisexual stereotypes has been shared around a lot on Pinterest. I was particularly hesitant about using Pinterest because I was afraid of not being able to find appropriate pictures to go with my blog posts, but I’m now very glad to use that social media platform to promote this blog! Sometimes, change is a good thing.

I was also nominated for two blog awards this year, both of which were Mystery Blogger Awards. I want to yet again thank Jordyn at The Chronically Unimaginable as well as Ospreyshire’s Realm for the nominations. Even though this is technically a personal blog, I tend not to talk that much about myself, so these award nominations are a cool opportunity to share parts of myself with my readers.

Another big surprise was that I was able to pull off my LGBTQ+ Stereotypes Series. Even at this time last year, if you asked me whether I felt I was capable of pulling off such a blog post series, my answer would almost certainly be “no.” However, I’m glad that I was able to do the series, as I felt like a learned a lot just by working on it (and, as far as I can tell, many of my readers also learned a lot).

The biggest surprise this year, however, was not my willingness to change some things around or the awards I won, but the fact that my post on men and mental health got so much attention! I don’t even primarily consider myself a mental health blogger (though I have published on some mental health topics), yet that post got more views, more likes, and more comments than anything else I published this calendar year! I didn’t even think that this post was really that much better than most of my other posts, yet my post on men and mental health got attention.

I guess the theme of this wrap-up (if there is one) is that you never know what you’ll learn or get yourself into with blogging. When I started blogging, I couldn’t have dreamt of winning awards, having the discipline to do a blog series, or get as much attention as I have with some of my posts. Yet, it happened, at times I would least expect it. Blogging can be full of surprises, and a lot of good surprises, at that.

Note that I will not publish a post next Monday because it’s the week of New Year’s Day.

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Another Blog Award! This Time, the Mystery Blogger Award

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As my readers can tell by the title of today’s post, I was nominated for another blogging award!

This time, I was nominated for the Mystery Blogger Award! In the words of the creator of the award, Okoto Enigma, it’s “an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging; and they do it with so much love and passion.” I thank Okoto for starting the award, as it’s a great way to spread the word on others’ blogs. For more details on the award, as well as Okoto’s blog, you can click here.

I also want to thank Jordyn at The Chronically Unimaginable (link: https://thechronicallyunimaginable.blog/) for nominating me! Her blog, which focuses on chronic illness, mental health, and disability, is consistently eye-opening and awesome, so I encourage my readers to check her blog out!

In order to accept the nomination, there are a few things I should do:

  • Put the award logo/image on your blog.
  • List the rules.
  • Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
  • Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well.
  • Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.
  • Nominate 10 – 20 bloggers.
  • Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog.
  • Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify).
  • Share a link to your best post(s).

I’ve already done the first four on this list, so I’m off to a good start! Now to three things about myself:

  1. I went to a Catholic high school seminary. That’s because, at one point, I was discerning for the Catholic priesthood! It took me until a couple years into my college career to realize that I wasn’t called to the priesthood, but it’s an important part of my life.
  2. Back when I was in high school, I was on my school’s speech and debate team, in a category called extemporaneous speaking. In that category, I had to make a 7-minute speech on a current events question I draw at random…and had to make that speech within 30 minutes of receiving the question. So, if you need someone to make a speech on the fly, I’m your guy!
  3. In spite of being pretty successful on my speech and debate team, I sometimes trip over my own words. For example, one time my late grandpa offered “butterscotch ripple” as an ice cream flavor option, and I said that I wanted “butterscotch scripple.” Oops.

As for my favorite posts, it’s difficult to select a few posts because I’ve done over 100 of them at this point! However, here are three of my favorites, in date order (mentioning in bold why it’s one of my favorites):

  1. “The #MeToo Campaign” (https://blindinjusticeblog.com/2017/10/17/the-metoo-campaign/): It was a difficult topic for me to write on, but what makes this among my favorites was the fact that so many people were helped and touched by it.
  2. “Self-Care is Not Selfish” (https://blindinjusticeblog.com/2018/11/20/self-care-is-not-selfish/): It’s a personal favorite because it represents a complete transformation for me, as far as my mental health was concerned—from not practicing self-care to practicing self-care, and then from practicing self-care to teaching others about self-care.
  3. “Looking to Share Emotional Burdens with a Friend? Before Sharing, Let’s Seek Consent” (https://blindinjusticeblog.com/2020/01/16/looking-to-share-emotional-burdens-with-a-friend-before-sharing-lets-seek-consent/): Mostly, I really like this post because I brought to light an idea (emotional consent) that I think has the power to transform countless friendships, dating relationships, and even marriages.

Jordyn gave me a few questions to answer, so here are her questions, and my answers to them:

  1. Why did you decide to start blogging? I felt that there were a ton of injustices that people (myself included) were blind to and/or blindly committed, and that those “bind injustices” should be talked about on a larger scale. So, I started to blog.
  2. Have you ever been ticketed (or arrested) for anything before? My home got some $25 ticket years ago for a recycling violation, and I’m the main person in the family who deals with trash and recycling. So I guess that counts?
  3. In 5 words or less, describe your greatest strength. Care for others.
  4. Would you put pineapple on pizza? Yes! I love a good ham and pineapple pizza.
  5. What is the strangest thing you did as a child? Oh gosh…there were so many strange things I did when I was a child. Echoing everything my brother said (to the point of annoying him) is probably somewhat high on that list.

My nominees (in no particular order) are:

Here are my questions for the nominees:

  1. Does your blog focus on a different topic (or set of topics) than you did when you started it? If so, what made you decide to change the focus of your blog?
  2. What is the best piece of blogging advice you’ve received?
  3. What’s your dream job?
  4. What was the funniest fear you had when you were a child? (I guess that’s funny/weird.)
  5. It is often asked whether you would rather travel forward or backward in a time machine, but do you even want a time machine in the first place? Why? (Well, make that two weird questions.)

Thanks for reading! This is different from what I usually write about, but hopefully you all learned a thing or two about me today! Also, hopefully people will be able to read my post, because WordPress was a bit glitchy when I originally put my draft on here!

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Another Liebster Award!

Liebster Award Image

So, today I have more big news! Dear Kitty. Some blog recently nominated me for the Liebster Award!

I want to give a special thank you to Dear Kitty. Some blog for the nomination. I followed the blog originally because of its insights on civil liberties/social justice issues, but I definitely recommend this blog for animal lovers as well!

In order to accept this award, I need to:

  1. Acknowledge the blog which nominated me.
  2. Answer the 11 questions my nominator asked.
  3. Nominate 11 other bloggers.
  4. Ask them 11 questions.
  5. Let them know I have nominated them.

Simple enough, right?

Here are the questions I got, with the answers in bold:

  1. What was your first job? I worked in the dish room of my college’s dining hall.
  2. What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten? One of the priests who taught me in high school frequently said, “God is God, we’re not God, and thank God for that.” To this day, that quote helps me keep perspective.
  3. Favorite season and why? Spring! The weather gets warmer, the days get longer, the flowers blossom, and the trees bud. It’s a season of warmth, light, and life for me.
  4. Favorite TV show? I don’t really have a favorite. Most of what I watch is either news or sports, not TV shows.
  5. When did you first travel alone and where did you go? Honestly, I don’t remember.
  6. Why did you start to blog? I wanted to eliminate the blindness many of us had/have to various injustices. For more details on how I started, please read my introductory post.
  7. What did you want to be when you were a kid? A meteorologist. And funny enough, I say in my blog biography that I like to track hurricanes and snowstorms during my spare time.
  8. Would you rather travel into the future or the past? I’d rather go back to the past and hopefully avoid any mistakes I made in the past.
  9. Do you have any siblings? Yes. I have one younger brother, and I love him very dearly.
  10. Can you cook well? I never made myself sick when I cooked for myself while I was studying abroad. I guess that makes me an adequate cook.
  11. What is the next thing you plan to learn? I plan to learn more about other neighborhoods close to my home in Queens! There’s so much to explore here.

I actually enjoyed sharing parts of me that my readers didn’t know before! I will therefore keep my questions the same for my nominees.

Okay…now for the blogs I nominate! Here are the blogs, with brief descriptions of what I like about them:

  1. Invincible Woman on Wheels. Emma exposed me to disability justice issues that I was blind to…on multiple occasions. Also, if you’re a disabled person hoping to visit London landmarks, you might want to check out some of her accessibility reviews.
  2. The Life Quadriplegic. This blog also exposes me to disability issues that I was/am blind to. Also, just as a random aside, Alex and I both LOVE York, England.
  3. Body Positivity. Sharing this blog is personal for me. I have not always been happy with my (slightly overweight) body, so it is a joy to share a blog that encourages people to love their bodies for what they are.
  4. Justice Network. To continue on the theme of being personal, the first social justice issue I worked on was anti-human trafficking work. I appreciate Justice Network’s commitment to this issue.
  5. Sport in American History. This blog combines two of the things I love the most (other than Jesus): sports and history. I also appreciate how this blog often talks about the intersection of sports and contemporary issues.
  6. Called to Watch. This blog gives amazing perspective on being in a position many of us may find ourselves in one day: being a family member of someone who has chronic illnesses.
  7. A Striving Parent. As a potential future parent who hopes to raise socially-conscious kids one day, it’s very useful to have a blog for…potential future parents like me who hope to raise socially-conscious kids! Thank you, Shannon.
  8. Age Discrimination in Employment. Since anti-ageism is a major part of my advocacy (See here: https://blindinjusticeblog.com/about/), I wanted to nominate at least one anti-ageism blog. This blog is one of the best (if not the best) I’ve found on issues related to ageism (particularly in employment).
  9. The Immigration Project. The blog talks about supporting immigrants from a Christian faith perspective. I find this voice refreshing as there are (sadly) many other believers who reject whole groups of immigrants.
  10. Queerly Texan. Alyssa’s blog was one of the first I discovered, and I’m glad I discovered it! She offers insightful perspective on living with chronic illnesses. Also, she’ll have LGBTQ+-themed posts throughout the rest of June, so it’s definitely worth reading her for that too.
  11. In a Crowded Theater. With the modern-day debates on free speech issues, I think people should check out the academic perspective on this topic from Professor Goldberg!
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Celebrating One Year of the Blog!

One year ago as of last Wednesday, I made my first blog post. It was also the post I was probably the most nervous about making, as I have a major fear of failure and that fear crept in once I made my first post.

One year later, that fear is gone!

Of course, I’m helped by the fact that my blog is not a failure. Quite the opposite—after over 50 posts, over 225 followers between the three networks I’m connected to (WordPress followers, Facebook likes, and Twitter followers), and my first blog award, I’d say that I’ve had a successful first year!

What’s more important than the basic statistics, though, is that people have told me, on many occasions, that these posts have helped expose them to injustices they didn’t even know about before. The purpose of my blog was, is, and will be to do exactly that: expose us to injustices that we’ve been blind to or have blindly committed.

So, with one year down, happy birthday to my blog!

P.S. Please note that there are a few times this spring/summer when I will not make my scheduled Tuesday post: May 29 (day after Memorial Day), July 3 (day before Independence Day), and September 4 (day after Labor Day).