GracexKate: The Sunshine Blogger Award

It has been a while since I have done an award post but the lovely Lujain tagged me in the Sunshine Blogger Award so I thought I would put up an extra post this week and answer the questions Lujain asked. I love posts like this because I feel like you get to know the blogger so much better. Thank you to Lujain for tagging me and I hope you enjoy this post.

The rules:

- Thank the blogger who nominated you and link their blog

- Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you

- Nominate 11 bloggers and ask them 11 different questions

- List the rules and display the sunshine blogger award logo in your post and/or on your blog site

Questions:

1. Where do you find inspiration for your blog posts?

Honestly, anything. I find my inspiration from other bloggers or YouTubers. As well as that, I love just brainstorming ideas and coming up with new things I would enjoy to write about.

2. What is your favourite social media platform and why?

I would definitely say Instagram just because I feel like everyone is on there and you can just do so much on it. Although I don't post on Instagram as much as I should, I still love looking at other people's profiles. Saying that Twitter is a close second.

3. What is the most valuable thing you've learned from blogging?

There are so many things that blogging have taught me but one that stands out to me is the idea that I have to stay true to myself. As cheesy as it sounds, I am constantly changing and growing and there was a point when I was blogging that I felt as though I needed to act more like my 'old self' because that is what 'others wanted to see'. I am definitely out of that mindset now but it was a huge learning curve for me that I really was only going to be happy if I was staying true to myself. Cheesy I know.

4. Name three things you love about yourself

I love that I am a trustworthy person as I like feeling as though people can talk to me. I love that I am hardworking and I also love that I am extremely organised which I guess is a weird one but I really like that I come across as 'put together'.

5. What is your favourite inspirational quote?

It is a super simple on but it is "Nothing will come of nothing" by Shakespeare in the play King Lear

6. What is one thing you wish you knew before you started your senior year of high school?

So in the UK, we don't have a senior year so I am just going to take it as year 11 which is our version of the final year of high school, which is when you turn. Right now, I have just finished year 11 and so right now, I can think of a lot of things I wish I'd known but the main one is that you have to do it for yourself. Sometimes I hate being selfish but I feel like a year like year 11 when you are so focused on the next stages of your life, you need to be selfish. I went through so many phases throughout the year where I wanted to do something for someone else but at the end of the day, I knew I couldn't go through with it because it wasn't what I personally wanted. Plus, I am a firm believer in that if someone really cares about you, they will always be there and so doing something for yourself shouldn't affect them too much, if they really cared.

7. If you could give a new blogger one piece of advice, what would it be?

I have so much to say for this question, so let me know if you think I should do a whole post about my blogging advice, but my main piece of advice is patience and hard work. At the end of the day, what you put in is what you get out but also you can't grow insanely overnight and so patience is key when you are blogging. It is important to keep in mind that your time will come.

8. What is your biggest dream?

Super cheesy but it is just to be successful and happy. I have a lot of things I want to do in my life that I would call 'dreams' but that is my main one.

9. What's one book you've re-read more than once?

Weird fact actually, I have never re-read a book ever just because I already know what's going to happen and reading the same words more than once is so boring for me. I have tried to read a book again and again but I just can't do it.

10. If you could live anywhere, where would you live and why?

Definitely not in the long term but I would love to live in a city so either New York or London mainly because of the atmosphere and how exciting it would be. I can definitely see myself living in either one of those but definitely not a long time as I think I would like to settle down in my hometown.

11. What things are you most grateful for in your life?

It definitely has to be my family and the household I have been brought up in. My parents are so inspiring and I would not be who I was today without them. I also grew up around my grandparents and they have definitely had a huge influence on my life and it isn't something I'd ever change. I have learnt a lot from my family and I am very grateful for the experiences they have given me at such a young age.