It’s always such an honor to be nominated for blogger awards, and today thanks are due to Ren Strange @ Strange Storyteller. This one looks like lots of fun, so let’s just get right into it!
Rules:
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 (Okoto Enigma) and provide a link as well.
- Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.
- Nominate 10-20 people.
- 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).
3 Facts About Me
- After four years of color/winter guard, I can say with certainty that I tan but don’t burn under the sun. Except my ears, for some reason โ my ears have gotten sunburned, and it was not fun.
- I love working with kids, but honestly I’m not sure whether I want the neverending responsibility of having my own. (Thankfully I still have plenty of time to decide!)
- Even as a kid, I never developed a taste for soda or juice; as an adult, I haven’t developed a taste for coffee either. I’ll take water, tea, or soymilk instead.
Ren’s 5 Questions & My Answers
If you could physically fight any character, who would it be and why?
There are plenty of asshole characters who deserve to be physically fought … but I’m 5’0″ and don’t weigh enough to donate blood, to say nothing of how uncoordinated I am.
So maybe I’ll play it safe-ish: a friendly sparring match with Genie Lo, even though she would definitely kick my ass. We could grab bubble tea afterward and bond over being overachieving Asian-Americans raised in the SF Bay Area.
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How do you stay motivated to write for your blog?
Honestly? I don’t really, haha.
If studyblr has taught me anything, discipline > motivation. There are plenty of times when I’m not totally happy with a post and/or don’t feel like creating content, but I know in the long run I’ll be happier if I stick with it. It’s all good practice, and I do love getting to look back at how I used to think, plan, and design, especially in comparison to how far I’ve come.
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Who is your biggest inspiration (whether in life or in your career field)?
Maggie Stiefvater, on both counts. Her writing is incredible and she clearly deserves her commercial success; I am also absolutely in awe of how multitalented she is (have you seen her art? Listened to her music? Heard her speak to an audience?), which reassures me that I don’t have to pick just one thing in life to be super interested in and/or good at.
If Maggie Stiefvater is any indication, you really can have and do it all.
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Which writer would you interview, if you could?
Maggie Stiefvater again; can you tell how much I love her? Though I did attend one of her writing seminars, so I have a bit of an idea how she writes. Hm.
Perhaps Erin Morgenstern. Both her books (The Night Circus and The Starless Sea) are incredible: beautifully written, masterfully woven plots, memorable settings and characters. I’d love to learn more about her process.
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Besides books, what are your biggest interests/hobbies?
I spend a lot of time knitting, though mostly I’ve just been making scarves to donate to the local soup kitchen. (It’s something to keep my hands busy while I read/listen to podcasts/catch up on my endless YouTube watch-later playlist/space out.)
Lately I’ve also been getting back into stretching โ I was pretty flexible in high school, and it would be cool to regain my right and left splits. And while I never did manage the straddle split, maybe someday I will.
This school year I switched into a traveler’s notebook, but I’ve been missing more traditional bullet journaling. Once I fill up my current notebooks, I’ll probably switch back.
Although my original writing has kind of fallen by the wayside lately, it’s still something I love to do. I have so many stories I want to tell.
My Best Posts
Ahhhhhhh this is like asking me to pick favorite books โ I have some ideas, but it’s so difficult to narrow down! But here’s a somewhat arbitrary assortment that I’m generally proud of:
- Goodreads Tips & Tricks
- [Bookending Summer Host Prompt] Table for Two
- I Made November Cakes & Labyrinth Cakes
- Ode to Libraries
- My Long-Term Relationship with Fanfiction
My Questions
- How do you take care of yourself at the end of a long day or week?
- What’s something you’ve always wanted to learn/try but haven’t gotten to yet?
- If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose?
- Which book character(s) do you most aspire to be like?
- What animal form would your daemon settle into?
I nominate:
Soph โข Clo โข Kal โข Ruby โข Haley โข Sam โข Lauren โข Caitlin โข Michelle โข Jamsu
As always, I know far more than 10 (or even 20) deserving bloggers, so please don’t take it personally if I didn’t list you this time! I try to nominate different friends in different posts to spread the love ๐
And even if I didn’t tag you, feel free to let me know your answers to my questions!

Aaahh! I’m so glad you accepted the nomination and answered my questions! Great post!
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thank youuuuuu ๐
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I’ve had this up for like three days, I loved your answers to the questions, and I was soooo happy you included a daemon question in your own set! Doing this now, thanks so much for the tag!! โค
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๐๐๐
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Thank you so much for the tag Izzy! I love your questions eeek. As a kid I liked juice and fizzy drinks but as I’ve gotten older…I’ve slowly waddled away from them. Tea I love as we know, coffee is too bitter for me unless I have sugar in it but then…it seems pointless to me because I don’t take sugar in my tea…so in my mind tea is healthier than coffee since I don’t need sugar. I sunburn easily, though the sun also gives me headaches ๐ฆ
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you’re very welcome, Clo!
i totally feel you on coffee, after growing up on tea/water i’m not equipped for higher caffeine levels and yeah i don’t like adding sugar/creamer to my drinks, let alone in the amount it would take to make coffee drinkable, so tea ftw ๐ต
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Late to commenting on this, but thank you so much for nominating me, Isabelle!! I honestly can’t wait to answer your questions โค I can’t wait to read The Starless Sea! And honestly…. I find Genie Lo annoying, so…. Maybe I’d fight her for real, but she’d still kick my ass :”))
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you’re very welcome! I hope you love the Starless Sea, and I can see why Genie might annoy some people … but yeah she’d definitely kick your ass ๐
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OMG, Maggie Stiefvater is amazing, and a personal hero of mine. I love her so much.
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SAME. she’s absolutely incredible!
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Hmm it looks like your blog ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I wrote and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to the whole thing. Do you have any suggestions for novice blog writers? I’d really appreciate it.
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