Liebster Awards 2,3 and 4

Yesterday was award season at blogsphere. My feed was swamped with everyone doing award posts. I have been procrastinating doing mine for a month now and I have more lovely people nominating me for various awards now and then. Decided to push my musings for awards today.

I received 3 more Liebster Awards from Jade, Adi and Ahmad, I really want a trophy now guys instead of answering your questions.

Jade is my sister from another mister. She recently started this brilliant initiative of opening a Facebook group for bloggers as a platform for new bloggers to establish their base. Go support her by following her and joining the facebook group. I get chocolates as part of my commission so please do 😛

Adi is a talented and creative blogger with vivid imagery to her words. Her 6 word short story challenges are my favourite. Follow her to participate in the challenges

Ahmad is a brilliant poet whose articulate words leaves me in awe. I am personally biased to his Urdu poems but his English poems are just as good. Check it out.

Jade’s questions :

1) What is perfect love for you?

Hmmm this is hard as I haven’t experienced perfect love yet. No wait, my mum. She has shown what perfect love is. Always kind,forgiving,patient. I always admire her big heart and hope to inherit the magnanimity trait from her.

2) Dancing in the rain or snow fight?

Dancing in the rain ftw!! Indian rain that is. When it rained here in Australia, I rushed out to soak the gentle pitter patter and boyy were they rocks pelting? I was like Owww owww stop, I am leaving geez.

3) What’s the best thing about kids?

Their innocent smile. I am talking about babies till 1 year of age. Any older and they turn devils.

4) Hit me with the most dangerous thing you’ve ever done

I am generally a goody-goody so I didn’t do anything dangerous. But will riding the world’s fastest roller coaster at Ferrari world count?

5) Which other language would you want to learn ?

Arabic.

6) Your favourite movie?

Lion King.

7) What keeps you motivated to keep blogging?

Comments from my readers.

8) What superhero power do you want?

The ability to fall sleep as soon as I hit the bed.

9) What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries?

Towel

10) Tell me something about you no one else in the blogosphere knows.

Hmm all my posts are autobiographical so there really isn’t anything you wouldn’t know. But one thing no one else here knows is my brushing schedule. So I wet my toothbrush before applying toothpaste on it, re-wet it and brush my teeth.

Adi’s questions :

1. If you could choose one superpower, what would it be and why?

To be invisible so I can travel the whole world without bothering for passport visas and all. Also to prank people.

2. Which is better – Harry Potter the book or Harry Potter the film? If you haven’t experienced either, I am so disappointed!

Book book book!! Always (HP fans would get the reference 😉

3. Which was the last picture you took with your phone?

Henna design that I did on my hand the other day.

4. What’s the colour of your toothbrush?

Pink. That was easiest to answer. Thanks Adi.

5. If you could be a flower, which one would you be?

No faiirr!! I love all flowers. But if I must,the red rose.

6. Polar bear or Penguin?

Can I have both?

7. You just won a free ticket to anywhere on Earth. Where would you go?

New York

8. Koala bear or Panda?

Arrrghh again? Bothhh

9. If you could marry a fictional character, who would it be and why?

Augustus Waters of The fault in our stars. Or Four of Divergent series. They are entirely devoted to their love. That’s why they are fictional 😛

10. What question do you hate to answer?

This question

11. What’s the answer to answer 10?

What question do you hate to answer?

Ahmad’s questions :

1. Writers are more humane. How far do you agree with my sentence? Why or why not?

Nope I disagree. They are the most inhumane species. They kill off favourite characters that readers root for. Most despicable.

2. What’s your purpose in life? You only live once. YOLO. Right?

Nope no YOLO coz I shall live in Jannah too in sha Allah, And hence my purpose in this life is to strive for that Jannah.

3. Why blogging? Any specific best thing about it?

Why not? I love the interaction that it gives with my readers. Also the opportunity to get inspired by others.

4. What’s you fashion taste? Party taste?

My fashion taste is my mum’s. She picks out gorgeous outfits for me so yeah.

5. What’s your say upon ‘love’? (I am curious to know this).

Love is a beautiful feeling. It gives you warmth on the inside even if the person is far away.

6. Any Quranic quote which really affects you? (For Non Muslim friends, write any quote which you really like)

Surah Inshiraah “Verily with hardship comes ease”

7. Where do you see yourself in the next five years or so?

Teaching naughty devils.

8. Your one hobby which really switches you on?

Reading

9. Your idea of motivating people?

Reminding them that they are awesome at what they do.

10. Your favorite dish?

Butter chicken with naan

11. Anything which really switches you off?

Strudying for exams.

I hereby nominate :

Mahaah

ishmalamroz

The Meek Chic

ijuihjas8

Loubnanya

Meensspeaks

throughtheglitterglass

spicylife19

letslearnwithfun

iamuslimah

asimmulla

I shall make it easy and ask you to tell 11 interesting facts about yourself. I am supposed to go to each of the nominees blog’s and let them know I nominated them but I shall be cheeky and not do it and see if they are actually reading my posts 😛

That’s it. Until next time

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Blogger Recognition Award

So I got nominated by the beautiful Tazzie Dee for the Blogger Recognition Award. Thank you Tazzie.Her blogs are all on beauty and lifestyle so go check it out to look beautiful and fashionable and stuff.Also she knows how to rock a purple lipstick.

Without further ado, the rules of the award :

1. Write a post explaining why you started blogging along with a few tips.
2. Nominate some of your fellow bloggers.
3. Comment on their blogs to let them know you’ve nominated them.

This award is fantastic as it is so handy to learn about the inside workings of blogging. I have been reading other people’s responses and am learning something new each time.

The reason I started to blog was I felt I needed to do something productive in life. My brothers are my biggest support system. They believed I wrote well enough to write a novel but I just needed to fine tune my thoughts and hence the idea to blog was born. With my parent’s permission, I started this anonymous blog as a way to vent out against the injustices of desi society and the feelings of confusion that a Muslim desi kid has to endure living in the western society.

My tips :

• This blog is your baby. At least I feel mine is. I feed it with my feelings and rant about what I have gone through. And you take care of your baby, so take care of your blog. Do not neglect it. Write something, anything. Post once in a while. But please don’t take a hiatus. Or else it will be like those diaries that you wrote when you were in teens. Abandoned.
• Do not compare your writing to others. You might see bloggers spewing great poetry, others capturing great photos and you may feel your posts are not that high up. Always remember : You are not meh. You do you. Yes, if you feel the need to improve, by all means do. But you shouldn’t be pressured to do so.
• If you feel like you are stuck in a rut, take a break away from blogging. I know it contradicts my first point, but I said break, not a 6 month vacation. By freeing your mind of any blogging obligations, you never know when inspiration can hit you. And when it does hit you, grab whatever you have close by : phone, pen, paper and write a few words or the title to your post to complete it later. I am usually on tram or train when I get these blogging revelations and I open the Notes section on my phone and type a little bit to be completed later. Sometimes you read someone’s post and get inspired. Grab the opportunity and give credits to that person.
• Always remember it should never be about likes. You might write one awesome post but no one reads it or likes it and then you might write one ok post and it bubbles over with comments. So never measure your writing prowess by the number of stars.
• Last but not the least, blogging should be a passion. Not a chore. Enjoy it.

The rule states I nominate some of my fellow bloggers but Imma nominate you all because tips and hacks are helpful azz.Even if you are not an award person type, I want you leave your blogging tips for me. Thanks in advance.

Until next time

One Lovely Blog Award

Two months into blogging and I receive my second nomination woohoo!! Poppie, a fellow lip-balm hoarder, was kind enough to think of me as one of her nominees. Thanks Poppie. Do a lip-balm collection post so I know which ones to add to my collection 😉

The rules for this award are :

• Thank the nominator and link them.
• List the rules and display the award.
• Add 7 facts about yourself.
• Nominate 7 other bloggers and let them know via a comment.

So here are the 7 facts about myself :

1. I love chocolates and I always used to think this isn’t a fact I should say about myself because I mean who doesn’t love chocolates? But I am starting to realise there are certain people whose taste buds aren’t developed for the elite confectionery. And I have suspicions that these are not normal human beings but in fact aliens who have been dropping onto Earth while we have been asleep. Chocolate is heaven. The person whose brilliant idea to mix bitter cocoa and sugar to create this delicious monstrosity should be awarded all types of prizes and awards. Meanwhile the idiotic person whose idea to combine mint and chocolate should be sued and sent to jail for eternity because why would you mix toothpaste and chocolate like bleehh? Readers who love the combo : I apologise for offending you and I shall send you your very own mint flavoured chocolate shortly 🙂
2. Throughout my primary and secondary years of schooling I have changed 6 schools. One of them was a madarsa (Islamic religious school) where I memorised the whole Quran. Because of this I have heaps of friends from different schools. But because of the short durations I spent at each school (3 years approx. except madarsa where I spent 5 years), we have limited memories of the time spent together and are currently just facebook hi bye friends.
3. I am a shy person when you meet me at first and you have to interrogate me quite a bit before I open up. I am currently working on it and have recently befriended a girl at my university : Beatriz of the fall post fame..
4. I am not the type of person who clings to ex-friends (by that I don’t mean we have become enemies or dislike each other but with whom I am no longer in regular contact). I guess changing so many schools does that to you.
5. I am a sensitive person. I do get offended but I do not show it.Hence people often mistake me to be unfazed by cold hard comments and throw philosophical rocks.I  tend to care for people’s feelings and do my best to not hurt anyone  which results in people taking advantage of it but I wouldn’t do it any other way because I have the Prophet’s and my mum’s example ahead of me.
6. I am a cheesy person and a comment on my blog by you lovely readers makes my day. I go back and read some comments when I am feeling down and it brightens up my mood so thank you.
7. I have two brothers Khalid and Mikaeel and we have never fought alhumdulillah contrary to public expectations. Exasperated parents often come up to us and my parents and ask the secret of the unity. My parents’ way of upbringing and the maturity and sacrificial attitude they instilled in us right from the start is the key I guess.

The list of lovely people who I would like to nominate for the One Lovely Blog Award are :

1. tamtam012013
2. Tazzie
3. Soraya Mckenzie
4. Faziana
5. Life of an Indian Hijabi
6. Star of Persia
7. Abidah

Hope you all had a great weekend.Until next time.

The Liebster Award

I am just 2 days shy of completing my one month at blogging and I got nominated for the Liebster Award!!!Yaaaaayyy!! I never thought success would touch my feet this early, I mean 22 posts only and awards and nominations already. I was preparing my thank you speech in my head the whole time I was in the train from uni to home. I really do hope I win. Ahem I mean may the best blogger win.

WHAATTT??? This isn’t what? This isn’t that type of award? What do you mean? What type? I am getting a trophy right? No???

 

So apparently Liebster Award is an online “award” that bloggers give to other bloggers. The aim is to recognize,discover and introduce new bloggers to the blogosphere. How lovely!! And here I was thinking of what food there would be at the award ceremony.

Jokes aside, I would love to thank the lovely Bushra for nominating me for my very first blogging award. Bushra is a nursing student who writes lovely posts on Islam which serve as a gentle reminder of where we stand and how to improve and also serve as a daily dose of spiritual health. Please follow her by clicking on Bushra and show her some love. (Sorry for the repetition of the words love and lovely in this paragraph. What can I do? Bushra IS lovely and writes lovely. Ok I shall stop.)

Based on my research, there are a set of rules for the Liebster award :

1. Link back to the person who nominated you.
2. Answer the questions given to you by the nominator.
3. You can choose to nominate up to 11 bloggers with less than 500 followers.
4. Create 11 questions for the nominees.
5. Notify the nominees via social media.

Set of questions Bushra asked me were :

Why did you start your blog?

My brothers Khalid and Mikaeel were the ones with the idea. They suggested me to polish my writing so I could write a novel in the future. But blogging has given me a chance to share my experiences, my feelings and thoughts on a global platform where it is more interactive and fun than it would have been through a book for an author and her reader.

Have you ever been through something life-changing that brought you closer to Allah and Islam?

I never actively thought of death as something that could occur at my age. Last Ramadan, a guy who used to pray at the nearby mosque where I used to go pray Taraweeh with mum, passed away while he was on his way for Fajr prayer. He was 21, the same age as me at the time. That had a deep and profound impact on me and I realised that I need to be prepared for death as it doesn’t announce its arrival to anyone at anytime.

What are some qualities you look for in people to take as friends?

I am very shy. So its people who take the effort to make me their friend rather than me rocking up to them and getting to know them. But the special diamonds I keep close to me should be kind, funny, cheerful and who don’t take offense at the silliest things. They should also love to take risks and be open to group suggestions.

What are your favourite foods?

Pizza, enchiladas,anything chocolate (except chocolate and mint combo),chocolate brownies,chocolate souffle,custard, cakes, cake in custard, fried rice, pulaao (fried rice and boiled peas) with chicken curry, naan and katumba (types of roti).

What is your biggest fear?

Heights.Spiders too. I don’t know which I fear more.

Favourite ayah or hadith?

Aayah 13 of Surah Rahman(chapter 55) which translates to : So which of the favours of your Lord would you deny?

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

This is so hard to answer because I only planned my life to end of this year. But in 5 years, I shall be 27, so hopefully married with a career. Or maybe married to my career haha if I become a successful writer in sha Allah.

Are you an introvert or extrovert?

Definitely introvert.

Favourite place to travel to?

Sooo many but number one on my bucket list is New York.

What makes you happy?

Chocolate and happy smiley people and sleeping in and writing.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I can never say no to anyone and I hate that. I wish I could be headstrong and just say no.

Those were all the questions.

Without any further ado,let me announce the nominees. And they are(drumroll please) :

• Paper Girl
• Poppie Tee
• Star of Persia
• abcd.x
• tamtam012013
• falmohammed4
• peaceloveanunity
• anansi2050
• Norah
• Ophelia Morse
• The Hidden Prestige

My questions to you are :

1. Who/what inspired you to blog?
2. What is one quality you love about yourself?
3. What is one quality you dislike about yourself?
4. What change would you like to bring to the world?
5. What are your favourite books/movies?
6. Favorite food items?
7. Who is your inspiration/role model?
8. What is one superpower you would love to have?
9. What is your deepest darkest fear?
10. What are your hobbies?
11. Are you athletic? If yes, in what sport?

Good Luck and have fun answering.

***Image and gif via Google Images