Growing and Going Strong — Award Tags and More!

“Keep moving forward.”
― Walt Disney (Meet the Robinsons)

I was scrolling through my bookmarks and procrastinating about doing the pile of tags that are waiting for me when I remembered that the lovely Auri @Manga Toritsukareru Koto and Arthifis @Arthifis’ Place tagged me for this award. I was a bit dubious when I saw the description but decided to accept that I’m one of those amazing individuals. Gotta work on my self-esteem issues after all! I am ever so grateful to these two – Auri and Arthifis – who are amazing bloggers themselves for always being so supportive and a source of positivity in the blogging community.

Growing Self Blogger Award

“The Growing Self Blogger Award has been created to acknowledge and celebrate amazing individuals, in the blogging community, who are persevering through life’s challenges not only to GROW as individuals, but to reach out and help others GROW as well.”

The Rules

• Put the award logo/image on your blog
• List the rules
• Thank the individual that nominated you and provide a link to their blog
• Describe the award and mention the creator: Roda @Growingself.blog
• Nominate up to 5 blogs. Remember, the purpose of this award is to specifically celebrate those individuals that make a difference in the lives of others.
• Give 1 reason why you nominated each individual.
• Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog (or link to their post/page)

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because we need to be reminded once in a while

Auri and Arty-sis tagged me so it would be redundant if I tag them too but I’ll be taking this chance to acknowledge their awesomeness as well.

Arthifis @Arthifis’ Place is a very passionate blogger who not only shares his love for anime and games but one who would also come up with variety of ideas and unique projects designed to bring bloggers together and showcase creativity. Case in point: Anime Blogging Party, a facebook group to discuss and share all things anime and is very much open to all interested to join. His Anxiety Series which is personal, encouraging and a helpful hand to those suffering the same. There’s also the ongoing Let’s All Write a Book project which is an ingenious tag to showcase the creativity of bloggers.

Auri @Manga Toritsukareru Koto who share several interests with me especially our unapologetic love for k-pop. Her blog is uniquely Riri with her poetry, manga, and Kwon Jiyoung. I always seem to find myself describing her as lovely which describes her persona perfectly. And speaking of persona, there is also the charismatic Nairne who you will be able to meet over at her blog. I have completely fallen for her works involving this character and now I’m anticipating more! Finally, her project along with several bloggers “Continue, Don’t Quit” that encourages those who need to be heard to share their thoughts without the fear of exposure or judgment. Seriously, this girl is a treasure.

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Now on to acknowledge some cool people who I met recently. I’m breaking the tagging rule but please understand that I just had to!

I tag:

Cactus Matt @Anime Q and A. Matt’s blog has become one of my favorites and a sort of guilty pleasure as it compels me to read through even if I have yet to watch that show. He has a unique review style which is in the form of Q&A which is made more fun and engaging. Read about his banter with his mysterious interviewer who exists but really don’t and it will surely brighten your day. He stays true to his format even when answering award tags and such.

Nicole @The BookWorm Drinketh. This awesome bookworm is also a fellow k-pop fan to my delight! She might just drag me over to her niche with her drinks while reading some very interesting books (especially that Jane Austen emoji business). I’m wondering if I should mention this at all because this is definitely me meddling but… I know Irina and Nicole know about each other and this is just my personal meddling opinion, but it would be awesome to see you two collaborate at some point!

Andie @Andrea’s Nirvana. Andie and I, we fangirl over so many things and could very well call ourselves as professional fangirls if there ever was such a thing. I really feel comfortable with this girl who I only met recently. It’s probably due to her very much welcomed and enthusiastic comments in my posts and the support she has been showing in both my blogs. Congrats Andie, as of now you’re the one with the most comments in my blog. Thank you so much for sharing your fangirl heart with me.

Kathy @Books & Munches. Kathy is already well-known in the book blog-verse and her munches are well-loved by all. Though according to her, and apparently this is a secret (I’m terrible at keeping them), it also gives her an excuse to just eat all the delicious food she features! I really admire her consistency in posting and spot-on review of books. She was also very kind to give me a bit of advice about finding my style in my book blogging and her tiny tip in creating graphics of my own.

Sven @Review Kingdom posts great reviews of films and writes it in a way which really makes me want to watch them (you totally got me with that Black Panther review and Lady Bird), not to mention his insightful thoughts not only on the technical aspects of the film but also on issues that matter. He and I also share the same problem at times when it’s difficult to translate ideas into words while writing a review because of how awesome the film or book is!

Ami @Ami Cyberspace. My love for art and drawings led me to discover this blog. Ami is a fantastic artist and a very kind one too. She recently drew a piece I requested and it was awesome! Not only is she a talented artist but I also discovered that she is a fabulous cosplayer.

Lulu @Lulu_chan★ is another talented artist who also generously granted my request for an art –and I really love how it turned out. She’s also a fangirl after my own heart. A fellow ARMY (BTS fan) and apparently a Jimin rival, though I’m not saying that I finally settled down with a bias. Did I mention we also share the love for cats? Have a meowderful day!

Shy @.:shy:. a fellow k-pop fan and BTS enthusiast. She shares her thoughts and her love for it over at her blog. How cool can this person get, you might ask? She’s a dancer! Shy and her daughter have been taking dance classes with k-pop choreography and have been sharing the experience over at her blog. Now that’s an inspiration for my next bonding time with mother dear..

Finally, Alicia @Miss Honeybug’s Reads & Crafts who recently tagged me for the blogger recognition award who I’m also tagging in this growing self blogger award. Dearest Alice – in the wordpressland – who also reviews books and share several interests like anime, manga and k-pop. She is a proficient book blogger and who is also a supportive fellow bookworm. Thank you Ali for the tag! Here’s one right back.

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The Rules:

• Generate a post about the award
• Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog – Alicia @Miss Honeybug’s Reads & Crafts 
• Write a brief story about how your blog began
• Provide two pieces of advice to newbie bloggers
• Select 15 blogs to nominate
• Comment on each nominee’s blog and provide a link to the post that you created about the award.

The story of my blog is something I have already shared once and I wouldn’t mind sharing it again:

It was back in 2013 when I wanted a reprieve from my stressful daily life and decided to register in WordPress. I was unsure back then if I would have a personal one or an anonymous blog. But I decided to keep my private life separate and retain anonymity. So I chose the name Chizuru from a beloved anime and added the letter e at the end for my nickname in real life. At that time I already loved watching all things anime and was also invested in the K-pop world. Of course being a bookworm was also part of my world then but I never blogged about books nor the manga I read. That blog lasted for a year or two then I decided to delete my posts and that site later on because I felt I was becoming a bit of a loner and thought that no one really heard my voice. I left to focus on my studies and thought to leave wordpress and blogging for good.

During the late 2017, I was feeling a sense of deja vu, of wanting an outlet like the one years ago so I decided to take that opportunity to go back. Fortunately for me then, I still remembered my account. So I made a new blog and started all over again. Actually I have two blogs now, one for my books and this one where you’re reading this. I started testing the waters again last September and now here I am!

In short: my account chizurue had been existing in wordpress for five years and more now though sadly inactive, but the blogs under said account were just created recently.

Advice?

Hmm.. Recycling the ones from Blogger Recognition post which still holds true:

Be yourself. Flaws and all, readers and fellow bloggers alike would want something real and authentic. I recently also learned that putting your personality in a post could be a great asset as it connects you more to your readers and invite conversation.

Never be bullied or intimidated into silence. If you have an opinion, this is the platform to share it. There would always be an opposing opinion but you can have different views and still respect each other.

Engage with other bloggers. Everyone has their own way of expressing support and feelings towards another but each of us definitely have something to say. It may be hard to find the right words to say, the right mood to make or even just the courage to type and hit send, but finding your way through those is already half the battle. Besides, we don’t bite!

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I’m not going to specifically tag bloggers for this but if you’d like to share how your blog began and advice, feel free share your thoughts below and talk to me!

Since one of the awards up there is about growing as a blogger, I’d also like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of you who are following Of Midnight Ravings — I recently hit the 300 milestone!!! And to those who are also following my book blog, I really appreciate the support. ❤

Does this mean the change in blog title was alright? pic.twitter.com/JQvg3EVRFT

— Chizurue (@chzurue) March 16, 2018

Be sure to show the awesome bloggers above some love! Thanks for reading!

P.S. I hope by this point, I am not the only one having the impulse to rewatch Meet The Robinsons.