I’m honestly so honored to receive this blog award from my bud Nicolle over at Stories of a Highly Sensitive Introvert! Check out her blog- she’s so sweet and amazing!

So, here’s what’s up…

If and when you’re nominated, you must…

• Mention your nominator and show your award!
• Answer the 11 questions he/she gives you!
• Tell your readers 11 facts about yourself!
• Nominate 11 bloggers for the award!
• And give them 11 questions to answer!

And you might just be nominated, too, who knows?

So, let’s get started with the questions Nicolle gave me!

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1. What is your favorite memory? 

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh….

Okay, wait, here’s one.

Right after I graduated high school, my brother decided to give me a sweet lil’ vacation for my graduation gift (he obviously has a lot more money than I do, haha), and he said we could go anywhere I wanted to go… within a sort of budget. And so… I decided I wanted to visit Alaska!

So… we went to Alaska! And it was AMAZING. Like, literally the best vacation I’ve ever went on. The whole trip gave up the best sightseeing and views of the beautiful state… and it was both my first time on a plane and a train, haha. We even got to see Mount Denali four full days in a row, without any clouds obstructing our view, and our tour guide said that was so rare and only happens every so many years. And we got to see a big brown bear up close and personal (from the tour bus) during our tour of Denali Park. I mean… it was literally only five feet away from us. Probably another rare thing to happen, haha.

Oh, and I found a keychain with my name on it in a gift shop on Anchorage… spelled the right way and everything! That’s literally the only time that’s ever happened to me, so that was just… pure luck.

All of it was such a wonderful memory… and I’d go back in a heartbeat. ❤

2. What is one thing you regret, and if you could go back, what would you do differently?

That’s a toughy.

There’s probably a lot of things I regret, but I don’t thing I could have honestly done anything in the moment differently for any of them. I think I mentioned in another blog post a while ago that I kind of wish I would have realized how much writing meant to me sooner than I did… and that’s probably one regret I have. I think I would have saved myself a lot of upset if I’d have committed to writing a lot earlier, instead of pushing it to the side so much.

3. What are your goals at the moment?

Honestly… to keep myself in a good mood every day, haha.

Oh, and to finish writing the current novel I’m working on! It’s a funny action/adventure type one… teen fiction, too, probably, though I feel like all ages can enjoy the content in it.  Kind of a bit like Cartoon… but not completely. But I’m really in love with it and its characters right now and I just can’t wait to publish it and let all y’all have a chance to read it!

4. How are you feeling right now?

Hungry. Haha.

5. What did you have for dinner today?

Nothing yet, that’s why I’m so hungry! But, last night I had a microwave frozen dinner… and it was like turkey and cranberry stuffing and sweet potatoes or something… but, honestly, it was not as good as it sounds. There was gravy on the sweet potatoes. Ick. I had to heat up some pizza rolls before bed.

6. When was the last time you cried, and why?

I’m a crybaby sometimes, haha. Usually when it comes to movies and certain songs… I lose it.

I do remember the last time very vividly, though, because it was just a few days ago and it was kind of a new experience for me. I was reading a new poetry book I recently got (stayed tuned to my blog for more on that!), and I read a poem that I really kind of related to and could feel for. I actually felt so in-touch with what it was saying, then, that I ended up getting a few of those tears. I wasn’t, like, full-out sobbing or anything… just one or two tears was all. I’ve never cried after reading a poem, though, so it was new and probably a really good moment for me.

7. The funniest joke you’ve heard?

Well, buckle down buck-os.

Actually, the funniest joke is one I heard a long time ago, but used in the book I’m writing right now… so I can’t really tell it here or I’ll spoil the story!

I’ll think of the next best thing, though.

Actually, I just re-watched Bridesmaids for the millionth time last night, and… this is my favorite part of the legendary movie. I’ll just leave this little clip here…

I lose it every time!

8. Do you have any pets?

Yes! A cute lil’ pup (old pup) named Boo (shih tzu)… a slightly less sweet (she’s actually really mean sometimes) named Bella (poma-poo), and… 7 pretty lil’ fishes (maybe more soon… I speculate one is pregnant right now)!

And I wish I had a cat…

9. Your favorite song?

How can anyone pick just one?!

Lithium by Evanescence, Adore by Ariana Grande, and… Rise up (Reprise) by Foxes.

There’s more, but those are top 3 majority of the time.

10. Who inspires you the most?

I could say multiple answers, but… I think really any other hard-working writer, super successful or not, inspires me to keep doing what I’m doing everyday. Also the people who read so much all the time… they’re who I’m writing for, and they’re the ones that make me feel like I’m making a difference with my words.

11. What are your hobbies?

Writing (though it’s more than a hobby), making music, painting, crafting… just creating anything, really!

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And now, 11 fact about me (if I can come up with that many)!

1. I’ve been writing since I was literally old enough to write.

I mean, I don’t want to be one of those writers who are like ‘well, I’ve been writing since I was a baby and you just started two years ago, so I’m obviously much more experienced’… because it really bugs me when people are like that. Your experience isn’t what matters when it comes to writing… it’s your passion. And if I’ve been writing since my beginnings… then okay, that’s just a fact, but that doesn’t define who I am as a writer, nor determine how good/bad I can write.

And, yes, I also have a lot of passion for writing!

2. I’m the baby of my family. 

If you watched my very first vlog post, you already know this, but I’m the youngest of 4 kids. And my brother is 16 years older than me, my sister 14 years, and my other sister 12. And, no, I was not an ‘oops’ baby… my parents just got scared of having an empty nest or something, haha.

3. I self-taught myself to play piano throughout high school. 

I started out with this old tiny piano keyboard thing I had as a kid… and then got a real life-size keyboard for my 14th birthday so I could really learn.

And the first song I ever learned was ‘A Thousand Miles’ by Vanessa Carlton! And… not Mary had a little lamb….

4. …and guitar when I got a little bored. 

I don’t know why, but I got a little tired of piano and wanted to add guitar to my list about two years later. I asked for a cheap acoustic to start out with for my 16th birthday… but my uncle (who literally owns a collection of 100+ guitars) ended up giving me one of his lesser-used electrics for my birthday instead! And… I still play it some, but I’ve always found piano to be a lot easier for me than guitar is.

5. I earned my CNA license through a vocational program my senior year of high school. 

CNA stands for Certified Nursing Assistant… and I was lucky enough to join a program in school to help me earn my licensure. I got to work in a local nursing home a few months before taking the big tests… and it was a special experience that I’m glad to have memory of.

6. Yo se un poco del español. 

I know a bit of Spanish… though I learned it in high school and haven’t actively used it in quite a while. I can still read things in Spanish pretty easily… but actively speaking/writing it takes some more effort for me. I could get a lot better with it if I’d practice some more, though.

7. E ho imparato Italiano da solo!

And I learned Italian on my own! 

Kind of right in the middle of learning Spanish in school, I started taking up Italian on a whim. I feel like I should have waited until after my Spanish classes were over to start learning it… because I would get words mixed up between the two a lot. They’re both really similar, too, so that didn’t help much. But, nowadays… I think I’m about as close to fluent as I’ll ever be in Italian (I understand about 90% of what I read and can speak/write about 50% without my dictionary… with my dictionary, 100%, though!), and I really love the language. Also, Italy is on the top of my future vacations list!

8. И я говорю немного по-русский. (Ee ya govoryu nemnoga pa-roosskiy.)

And I speak a little bit of Russian. 

This one’s pretty new, though, so… I don’t know much, haha. Just the basics right now. But, don’t worry, I’ll get myself fluent enough soon!

9. Actually… I rarely read (for fun).

Oh, shoot me.

Reading’s not actually my favorite thing in the world… I still do it, though, but mostly for my own benefit as a writer. If I weren’t a writer, I would never read. Though… I do read poetry for enjoyment a lot these days, if that counts for anything. It’s just really rare for me to pick up a novel on my own terms and really go for it.

10. I’m big on baking!

I bake all the time, haha. Cooking is a good way to keep me on my feet for a while, and desserts are my favorites, so it’s not uncommon for me to spend six hours making cannoli or cupcakes upon cupcakes every so often.

I also used to be a cook in a restaurant, so it feels weird for me to go more than a few days at a time without cooking anything.

And 11. …I used to make music remixes all the time. 

Mostly just for my own music library, though. I posted a few on youtube a long time ago… but I’ve since deleted them. I still like to dab into mixes and mashups every once in a while (usually when I don’t actually feel like writing), but I’ve slowed down with it for the most part.

Oh, and here’s a bonus fact that I just remembered.

12. I’m one of those rare natural redheads that make up only 2% of the world… haha. 

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Well, that’s all I’ve got now! I feel like I just typed away forever… but it was hopefully worth it!

Now, for my tags… I’m going to steal an idea I saw a few bloggers do a while ago with a different award, and just say that I nominate every single blogger reading this right now for the Liebster Award! You guys are the ones helping me keep my blog afloat and running, and I’m so thankful to have you all! Therefore, you all deserve to be apart of this grand award!

So, remember the rules above, and here are my 11 questions for you…

1. What are your goals?
2. What’s your hair/eye colors?
3. What are your top 3-5 favorite songs?
4. When was the last time you laughed really hard and over what?
5. What did you have for dinner last night?
6. Did you used to play any sports in school or in the past (or currently)? Which ones?
7. Do you/did you used to play any instruments? Which ones?
8. What’s an occupation you really admire (other than your own) and why?
9. If you didn’t blog, what would you do to fill that blogging time?
10. Who really inspires you?
11. If you could wake up tomorrow in any place in the world, where would it be?

And there’s your questions!

Be sure to comment below if you take me up on my award offer and I’ll be sure to check out your blog and read your answers! I’m really excited to hear them!

Until then, though!

-iKari