Bloggers Support Bloggers Challenge!

As soon as I saw this tag, I shrieked in pure delight because it’s exactly the reason I love blogging so much. It’s a way to spread love and positivity as well as including other bloggers. Bethany nominated me for this and wrote some truly lovely words about me and other bloggers; you should go and check her post out! Anyhow, on with the tag!


The Rules

  • Thank the person who tagged you and be sure to link their blogsite!
  • Add the official photo to your post.
  • List at least five bloggers you like. It can be bloggers you’ve known for a long time but, be sure to add a couple newbies in there too! This is all about spreading love and encouragement so don’t be afraid to step outside your friend group, please!
  • In five sentences or above, give a short description about why you love that blogger.
  • Tag at least 3 other bloggers to do this challenge down below.
  • Put #bloggerssupportbloggers in the Tags section so whenever a blogger is looking for new blogs to read, it will be easier to find!

Apparently, I’m a rebel in all forms so I’m not going to write about 5 bloggers. I’m going to write about 7 because it’s 1) one of my best friend’s second favourite number, 2) just a good number and 3) I’m indecisive.

Lu from Lu Reads

I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THIS CHILD. From her screaming over books to her posts on representation in YA, her blog content is so varied and inclusive. She’s become such a good friend to me as well; reading her blog always puts a smile on my face because seeing her rave about her favourite books – like Autoboyography (or yell about her least favourite) gives me books to add to my ever-growing TBR pile or books to avoid/run away from screaming. I also love how she’s so involved in the community – her Twitter gives me such joy I CANNOT EXPRESS IT. I genuinely feel like I can’t do the description of how much I adore her writing style justice so I’m going to leave you with wordless crying and a plea that you just READ. IT. NOW.

Kel from Consider Yourself Warned

If you’ve been living under a rock (or haven’t seen our interactions on Twitter), Kel and I have known each other for about 8 years and he’s one of my closest friends. His blog is hilarious; I read his posts and have been known to honestly cry whilst laughing. ALSO I CAN HEAR THE WORDS IN HIS VOICE AND AAAA! Not only does he make beautiful posts like this but his introspective posts are also amazing – take a look at this one too. He’s also nearly at 1000 followers and I’m so proud of him for all he’s achieved with his blog; the transformation I’ve seen in him over the last few years is wonderful to see.

Holly from May Contain Spoilers

I found holly really recently from our common ground of shouting over A-Levels. You’d be so surprised at the bond that can be forged over mutual sobbing. She’s thinking of doing the same course as me and even in a short time, we’ve got on so well. On checking out her blog, I was immediately struck by how friendly she sounds. It feels like she’s talking to you directly when she shares her opinions of books; I really appreciated her blend of coherency and shouting over BOOKS YESS I LOVE THEM AHHH. You can see that blend of styles here in one of her discussion posts. Also, I almost cried at her use of “Gods of Olympus” that can be found in this glorious post.

Ally from Cute but Awkward

I found Ally’s blog recently as well and I am so glad I did. Her positivity astounds me: she’s got so much self-belief and belief in others that I get inspired just thinking about it. You can find a tag she created here that celebrates people’s unique qualities and you should give it a go because it might help you to transfer some positivity onto yourself, too! Recently, she hit 100 followers which is fab and despite only knowing her for a short while, I’m really proud of how much time and love she puts into her blog. She’s got a whole support group around her; seeing comments on her blog and the encouragement she gets is so beautiful. Her happiness is contagious; I’m smiling right now which makes me feel, a little, like I can conquer a small section of the world.

Kirithika from Wolfish Delight

This may sound… Slightly creepy but I’ve known Kirithika for a very long time and I’ve never met someone who I wanted to be friends with so badly. Her blogging journey has been inspiring to watch, her honesty helping me to become more honest myself. The way she writes is, in a word, helpful and in a few more, reassuring where it makes you feel like you’re not alone in the world. Posts like this one have actually let me become less self-conscious in my own body. The blogging world needs people like her, who aren’t afraid to talk about things other people might shy away from. She’s one of the people I’m most thankful to for letting me understand that what I feel is okay. Can I just cry for a second? Those like Kirithika give me so much faith in myself.

Ellie from the Diary of Ellie

Ellie is a blogger who i’ve been in awe of pretty much since I found her blog. She’s not only professional but also has a blog which hosts a variety of content, from beauty to photography to spreading positivity (which I love!) One of my favourite recent posts of hers is her talking about her favourite bloggers and the respect she has for the community is lovely to see. What she writes is also very helpful; her post on apps that every blogger needs is a great read. All in all, I aspire to be at Ellie’s level of professionalism and to have her confident writing style. I definitely plan to read more of her posts in the future as she has some helpful insights on beauty products which I’d love to try.

Shay from Planet Shay

I’ve known Shay for ages and throughout that time, whenever I go on a blog binge-read, her dedication and genuine, quality content is always what jumps out at me. Even when going through stressful times in her life, she still manages to post every few days and just HOWW?? I want that level of committment, honestly! She posts so many different types of content; by far the ones that make me most emotional are posts like this, which bring the humanity back to emotions. Without fail, she helps people to remember that what they feel is valid – reading comments on her posts shows me that the community she’s built is one of love and thoughtfulness. She also writes with a mature but friendly style; I never feel patronised when reading her content. Oh! A few days ago, she reached 400 followers so show her some love because she deserves it!

I love all of these bloggers; they each individually illuminate the best parts of the blogging world to me. The communities they create are irreplaceable and all of them inspire me in one way or another, whether I met them 3 years ago or 3 months ago. Needless to say, regardless as to whether I know them personally or not, I have a lot to thank them for.

Anyone who I fangirled about, feel free to do this tag! That goes for any of my readers too; it’s a lovely thing to write and also gives you the excuse of reading through some of your favourite blogs.

I hope you enjoyed reading this! Doing these kinds of tags makes me want to connect to the blogging world even more.

Who are some of your favourite bloggers?

Love from Elm 🙂

The TMI Tag!

OKAY OKAY OKAY so I don’t think I’ve done a tag in at least… Probably around 60 years. I also don’t think I’ve ever done this one before and so my little heart, needing a break from exams and stress, is way too excited about this.

The idea for this post comes from Mary whose post is so funny and made me wildly laugh at one point. Thanks for providing me with inspiration and sorry that it took me this long to get around to doing this tag!

The TMI tag consists of 50 questions and you answer them. It’s that simple. I do warn you – I haven’t taken this quite as seriously as some of my other tags (though when do I ever take a tag completely seriously?) and I’m sorry for the amount of capitals. Have fun reading this!


1: What are you wearing?
Jeans and a t-shirt of some kind. I can’t actually remember what colour they are – the t-shirt’s light and that’s all I can tell. If you’re confused as to why, look at this.

2: Ever been in love?
Yes. It was fucking painful.

3: Ever had a terrible breakup?
I’m not actually sure. I’d say yes because the breakup I’m thinking of – just over a year and a half ago now – was really painful but it wasn’t terrible in that the person wasn’t a dick and it’s complicated and this.

4: How tall are you?
I am 6 foot 7 and FIGHT ME IF YOU DISAGREE. Actually I’m just under 5 foot 1 but shhh I’m going to pretend I’m tall?

5: How much do you weigh?
I think either just over or just under 40 kilograms but I don’t weigh myself really. I’m very thin and very short; I’m not sure if it’s because I was born really early or if I’m just tiny?

6: Any tattoos?
As far as I know, no.

7: Any piercings?
I have one earring in each ear – I got them pierced at the end of last year.

8: OTP?
Tanner and Sebastian from Autoboyography I LOVE THAT BOOK SO MUCH

9: Favourite Show?
Ugh, this will be a trend but I don’t really have one. Anyone got any recommendations?

10: Favourite bands?
I don’t really get obsessed with bands but I like We the Kings and Arctic Monkeys to an extend and I DON’T KNOW??

11: Something you miss?
Being able to have feelings without freaking out about them, second guessing myself and then being a moron.

12: Favourite song?
At the moment, Honey by Kehlani or Think Before I Talk by Astrid – the acoustic version is beautiful.

13: How old are you?
18 but I look about 12.

14: Zodiac sign?
Capricorn but horoscopes creep me out and say I’m work-orientated which is just wrong.

15: Quality you look for in a partner?
Someone who understands that I’m confused and that I have a shit ton of internal issues that I still have to sort out; someone who won’t fuck off at the first instance of my paranoid mind showing up.

16: Favourite Quote?
“Do you think me handsome?”
“NO, sir.”
-Jane Eyre

17: Favorite actor?
See number 9.

18: Favourite colour?
Probably blue. I’m not sure?

19: Loud music or soft?
It depends on what I’m feeling. If I want to forget my feelings I’ll put some shit pop songs on but if I’m feeling sentimental, I have a Spotify playlist with rather unhappy music it’s great.

20: Where do you go when you’re sad?
I don’t go to a specific place; I either totally avoid people or force myself to socially interact but it’s usually the former.

21: How long does it take you to shower?
About 40 years; I’m not even joking.

22: How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
If I’m hurrying about half an hour but if not, about an hour I’d say? I hardly ever wear makeup and I usually leave the house looking like a troll.

23: Ever been in a physical fight?
No no no.

24: Turn on?
HAHAHAHAH WHAT IS INTIMACY

25: Turn off?
People who are arseholes and trivialise issues 🙂

26: The reason I joined WordPress?
I wanted an outlet and to help people have the same. I needed a place to express my thoughts where I wouldn’t be judged. All of this is still true, of course.

27: Fears?
Bees, being left alone, screwing up all my friendships, panicking.

28: Last thing that made you cry?
Exams I LOVE A-LEVELS SO MUCH!!!

29: Last time you said you loved someone?
Last night to my mum. If we’re talking romantically, last year but it was one-sided and oops I’m just going to forget about that.

30: Meaning behind your Blog Name?
I honestly don’t know. I wanted a name that wasn’t really a name and I got kind of sick of getting too hung up on identities so that’s where the “Or something” comes from. I didn’t really think about it at the time – it just clicked into place.

31: Last book you read?
I haven’t been able to read much so it was a re-read of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda which is amazing, by the way.

32: The book you’re currently reading?
Because of exams, I’m not reading anything right now which saddens me.

33: Last show you watched?
Probably a miscellaneous episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine but that would have been ages ago because exams.

34: Last person you talked to?
My mum, if by talking you mean physically speaking.

35: The relationship between you and the person you last texted?
I don’t know?? She’s very special to me but we haven’t defined anything fully yet and I want to wait until after exams to process my feelings properly.

36: Favourite food?
chocolate of some kind. I’m so healthy.

37: Place you want to visit?
Either Amsterdam or Australia.

38: Last place you were?
My room?? I don’t really get this question but yes.

39: Do you have a crush?
YES BUT FEELINGS WHAT ARE THEY REALLY HELP

40: Last time you kissed someone?
Two weeks ago.

41: Last time you were insulted?
I mean,,, I don’t remember, probably recently but I just didn’t realise it was an insult.

42: Favourite flavour of sweet?
… I have – idea whatsoever.

43: What instruments do you play??
I used to play piano and I also vaguely sing.

44: Favourite piece of jewellery?
I love necklaces because bracelets never seem to fit me and earrings are a pain.

45: Last sport you played?
HAHAHAHA OH GOD THAT IS FUNNY

46: Last song you sang?
You Don’t know by Katelyn Tarver. My singing ability has been somewhat destroyed for now by a cold I’ve got.

47: favourite chat up line?
Have I seen you before? Oh wait…

48: Have you ever used it?
I don’t think so; I really hope I haven’t.

49: Last time you hung out with anyone?
When I saw Pearl last.

50: Who should answer these questions next?
Honestly, anyone who reads this post. It’s actually a lot of fun to do this tag so go for it!

I hope you enjoyed reading this pile of shit – sorry, I meant post. I shouldn’t be laughing at my own answers but I am and I think I need to go and do more revision.

See you when exams are over, unless I break and post before then!

From Elm 🙂

The Music Habits Tag!

Hi!
Long time no speak, write – whatever it is I churn out on this blog. Things have been painfully hectic recently but I’m back with a tag! I can hear you shrieking for joy all the way from here, the air filled with the beautiful sound of silence. Okay no, I’ll shut up and stop whinging; onto the tag!

This was created by my amazing friend Sumedha who is a genius and you should seriously check out her blog. I love this tag of hers and it’s time I yelled about music more on this blog.

The Rules

  1. Tag the creator – Sumedha – so they can read all your answers!
  2. Thank the person who tagged you.
  3. Answer all the questions.
  4. Tag at least three friends.

This sounds fab I NEED TO DO TAGS MORE OFTEN! Right, the questions…

Do you download songs or stream them from apps like Spotify?

I used to download songs onto my phone but I got quite bored of that because I wasn’t able to find new music easily, so now I use Spotify to stream most of my music. For me, it’s easier and takes up way less space on my phone.

What’s your current favourite song?

Ooooh this is a difficult one. I’m really loving the acoustic version of Flicker by Niall Horan because it gives me a vague amount of hope and the piano accompaniment is beautiful. You’ll notice a pattern – I listen to sad songs a lot and the ones that aren’t sad, I’m too ashamed to admit to.

Last song you listened to?

I was feeling bitter and stereotypical so I listened to Let Me Go by Hailee Steinfeld – I actually really like it and it’s one of the songs I listen to that aren’t really weird or sad.

Who are your all time favourite artists?

  1. Katelyn Tarver
  2. We The Kings
  3. Hayley Kiyoko
  4. Alan Walker
  5. Dean Lewis

Oh god, my taste in music is strange… I don’t actually have many all-time favourite artists; I more get obsessed with songs.

Have you been to any concerts?

YESSS, I’ve been to Glastonbury four times – from the ages of 8 to 11- where I’ve seen Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Jay Z, Marina and the Diamonds and a few others. I’ve also seen Rae live, and Hozier, which you can read about here. That was honestly amazing and I’ve loved all the concerts I’ve been to.

Do you play any instruments?

I kind of play the piano, though badly; the main thing I do is sing. On my contact page, you can find a link to my grim Youtube channel that I’m not even allowing myself to call a “Youtube channel”> On there, I occasionally warble out something you might call music, if you were being generous. I quit piano years ago so singing’s the only thing I really have, music-wise.

Do you play your songs on shuffle or choose a playlist?

Recently I’ve been getting really into playlists but I do want to start to shuffle my music more. I kind of like the uncertainty of it on days where that doesn’t stress me out. I’ve created some seriously cringe playlists on Spotify that I really hope I’ve made private…

Name one song that you always skip when it comes up on shuffle

Perfect by Ed Sheeran. I used to really love this song but now, it actually upsets me to listen to it. I’ll listen to it occasionally but I have too many internal things associated with that song to feel entirely at ease when I hear it.

Do you prefer playing songs on speaker or listening in ear/headphones?

When I’m at home, I’ll often listen to music on my speaker or just out loud. However, in public, I always put headphones in because sometimes I have pretty emotional reactions to songs and get embarrassed quite easily if people see me looking happy/upset in public. I don’t know – I’m quite odd.

Is there any popularly liked song that you don’t like?

I really don’t like Hurtin’ Me. It just makes me angry whenever I hear it. I’m listening to it at the moment and getting so furious that I’m going to switch to a less insufferable song.

Where do you usually find new music? Example through shuffle online

Usually, it’s through YouTube, or if something comes up on my Spotify that I’ve never heard before. If my friends really like a song and go on about it a lot, I’ll listen to it just to see what it’s like and quite a lot, I’ll get good song recommendations from it. Saying that, on top of some strange videos in my recommended, YouTube is usually my place to go.

Do you like songs based on tunes/beats or lyrics?

If one is really bad, so if there are shit lyrics or a shit tune, I won’t like the song. However, what usually attracts me to songs are the lyrics; if a song has a particularly relatable theme or line, I’ll automatically get obsessed with it. Some songs I like purely for their beat (but I don’t usually admit that shhh).

Name one song you think everyone should listen to

Waves by Dean Lewis. The first time I heard it, I cried because it pretty much describes how I feel on a day-to-day basis. that, coupled with the piano, makes me feel weirdly comforted whenever I hear it.

And I Nominate

Bethany
Alex
Perfectly Platonic
Bri
Kel


I hope you enjoyed my weird and rambling answers! I don’t have the best music taste ever but I own it…

What’s your favourite song?

From Elm 🙂

A Little Christmas Tag!

IT IS TWO WEEKS UNTIL CHRISTMAS ARE YOU EXCITED?? Because I am and I’ve catapulted myself out of my “Scrooge Phase” and have finally become all Christmasy. For my first Christmas post of the year, I’m going to be doing a Christmas tag!

I was nominated by the wonderful Chloe Lauren and you can read her post here. She’s one of the most positive bloggers ever and you should totally look at her blog because CHRISTMAS!

This fab tag was created by Girl Enters and I love the idea of it. Christmas tags are so fun because you get to scream about how much you LOVE CHRISTMAS.

The Questions

Do you like Christmas?

I like it a lot more now than I did before; I used to not get hyped at all. I love it because of the presents and decorations and how it brings all my family together. I don’t get as hyped for it as some people do but when people around me are getting festive, it’s almost contagious.

What do you enjoy most about Christmas?

I really love going to Christmas markets and also spending time with my family. When we go to my Grandma’s, we often all get really involved in bringing in the presents and the ridiculous excitement on Christmas morning with stockings is something I still do. I’m not a child, okay?!! I’m just… Alright, maybe I am a tiiiny bit of a child. (I look like one so shhhh)

Do you travel at Christmas or stay at home?

On Christmas Eve – or usually the 23rd – we go to my Grandma’s for Swedish Christmas, where we open presents and have Swedish Christmas dinner. The next day, my sister and I go to our mum’s house and have a ‘second Christmas’ there. So in a way, we do both.

Do you send out Christmas cards?

I personally don’t because I can’t write them. When I do send them out, it’s usually to friends who can read Braille or if I’m feeling especially festive, I’ll ask someone to write it for me. I’m SORRY! Writing print isn’t, erm, exactly my forte.

Do you go to any Christmas parties?

Hahahahaha NOOO. I don’t get invited because I’m an antisocial moth ×100 but I’d like to go to one with family or maybe friends. The closest I get is a New Year’s party which acts as a kind of substitute birthday party.

Do you decorate your house?

Not much, besides the tree. We have a Christmas ornament on the door and my stepmum and I plan to buy Christmas candles this year (we really should do that). I’d love to get some reindeer ornaments too because, as with everything, THEY ARE SO CUTE!

What tops your tree?

An angel. It’s getting quite old but I love it – we used to have two, one for me and one for my sister, but I think one of them went missing or something. We used to have a star as well but we haven’t seen that in a while… I swear, elves are stealing our decorations.

When do you put up your Christmas tree?

Usually it’s around 5 December – this time, we put it up two days before that because we’re all going to be quite busy this week. (One day, I’ll go on a rant about how much I love Christmas trees which hopefully won’t turn me into an actual Elm).

How long do you leave up your decorations for?

We usually have them up until 5 January or the 6th because we like to keep the festive spirit going. This time, we might have to take the tree down a bit earlier because guests are coming round so I’ll just sob over fallen pine needles and mourn the loss of my kindred spirit… Right, I need sleep.

Which do you prefer, giving or receiving presents?

Hmm… I’d say giving because I love seeing people’s responses but also receiving because I’m paranoid people will hate the presents I got them and buying for my family is a nightmare. I don’t like getting too many presents because I hate my family spending too much money on me but I suppose they have the same thought process as me, in that getting someone something they love is amazing.

When and how did you learn about Santa Claus?

What?!! Santa isn’t real?
I learnt about that – my heart’s still breaking – when I was about 7. There were these hairbands in my stocking – the only ones I’d received – and I was eavesdropping at the door of the kitchen and heard my aunt say, “Those were some lovely hairbands you got Elm!” In my little brain I started going “Hmm… Have these bitches been lying to me?” and that, children, was how I realised Santa wasn’t real. As a side note, I had to keep on pretending to my cousin that Santa existed and every time, I probably had a weird little smile on my face.

What’s your favourite thing to eat during the Christmas holidays?

I know Christmas cake and pudding is great (actually it’s gross and I don’t like it) but I either love Advent callendar chocolate, chocolate orange or those decorations you get on the Christmas tree. A few years ago, I may or may not have eaten them all. Do you notice a pattern? I 100% certainly absolutely don’t.

Nominees

And I nominate…

Ruby Rae Reads

Indy

Sumedha

Kate

Jasmine

Lu

Bethany

I really hope you like this and that you’re having a fabulous December! Even if it’s freezing here in Britain, I’m still enjoying myself.

What kinds of decorations do you have up at Christmas?

From Elm 🙂

The Social Media Blog Tag!

Every so often, a tag comes along which I absolutely love with all my stone cold, unfeeling heart. The Social Media Blog Tag is one of them. Created by Chloe last year, she brought it back this year and I couldn’t be happier. For some odd reason, I was tagged – than’ you so so much by the way – and I immediately knew I had to do this one again. Um well, it’s being posted two days after it was supposed to but I’m SORRY I NEED to GET MY SHIT TOGETHER!

I did this tag last year when I was actually funny – HAHA remember that? Excuse all of the screaming ramblings that are going to follow. I miss my “old style” of posting, where I felt more relaxed. So, screw the correct grammar and more formal style of posting: I’m going to rave about people, write in ALL CAPITALS sometimes and bloody well enjoy myself whilst doing it.

Right. I refuse to get stressed about doing which award but it was created to spread love; it’s based on different types of social media and bloggers who would fit that.

The Rules

  1. Thank the person who tagged you. (Merci, Chloe; you’re brilliant)
  2. Choose a Blog or Blogger per category and explain why you chose them.
  3. Tag others to do this (up to you how many)

THE CATEGORIES OF FABULOUSNESS

INSTAGRAM – A BLOG WITH A DESIGN YOU LOVE

Annoyingly, I can’t actually do this one properly because I’m almost completely blind. However, from what I’ve heard, Reine has a wonderfully designed blog. She recently went self-hosted and I know that she’s put a lot of effort into what she does; compared to her, I’m pretty much an uninformed, technologically-repellent cavewoman. I’ve also known Reine for what feels like forever; she’s a huge blog inspiration for me and has helped me out so much! (Trust me, I need all the help I can get.)

FACEBOOK – A BLOG WITH A FRIENDLY BLOGGER

I didn’t even have to think about this one: GirlMasked is one of the nicest people I know. She’s always there to support people – on her posts and on Twitter. Not only does she write relatable content (her posts on mental health calm me down so much) but she always reaches out to people either when they’re having a bad day or when something amazing happens. I never feel afraid to talk to her and she’s someone in the community who you can always rely on to have the best chats with, about anything! Seriously, you’re wonderful; don’t stop writing!

TWITTER – A BLOGGER WHO COULD WRITE JUST 140 CHARACTERS AND YOU WOULD STILL LOVE THEM

AHH definitely Lu, who’s actually one of my close friends. Her writing style MAKES MY LIFE COMPLETE and her rambles and rants on books are my favourite thing. She’s mastered the art of being able to summarise her thoughts well (I’m sobbing here because I love it SO MUCH and am so jealous). I love how everything she says is either amazing, hilarious or IS IN ALL CAPS because that’s the best writing style of ever.

YOUTUBE – A BLOG WHICH KEEPS YOU ENTERTAINED

OKAY this is easy – Diversion3000 is the funniest blogger ever. Her posts actually have made me cry with laughter on a number of occasions – from fashion reviews to fantastic lists to musings on life, whenever I read her posts I have a smile on her face. Not only that but she’s friendly as hell and when you talk to her, the bubbly and awesome personality shown in her posts is just as present. Ever since her blog started, she’s been someone I go to when I need a cheer-up and I admire her so much for that!!!

SNAPCHAT – THE BLOGGER WHO’s UPDATES YOU CAN’t WAIT FOR

Without a doubt, I have to choose L for this one. Both his blog and Twitter are some of my favourite things to read: he’s funny and whenever he posts or tweets about his life, he does it so casually – as if he’s speaking to his readers like they’re his friends. Recently, he’s got a Guide Dog and those updates have got to be the ones I love to read the most because he’s so incredibly happy. I honestly get emotional when I think about it – is that weird?

TUMBLR – A BLOG WHICH IS VERY DIVERSE AND HAS VARIETY

Jasmine has always been someone who manages to balance loads of different themes on her blog. I’m always in awe of her; she’s got to be one of my favourite bloggers and blogging inspirations. She posts life updates, thoughtful posts, about her dairy-free lifestyle and also blogging tips. I’m not sure how she does it because I find it really difficult to keep my content interesting so that you don’t fall asleep while reading it. However, you will never get bored when reading her blog because she’s one of the most inspiration people I know, simply because her blog covers so many different things and never, ever lacks in quality with any of them. Ahh, I adore her blog more than anything.

PINTEREST – A BLOG WHICH IS FULL OF CREATIVITY AND INSPIRATION

Someone who I’ve known for ages, Misstery Blog writes such beautiful poetry on her blog that it makes me feels all the feels possible. Her thoughts on life, particularly teenagers, inspire me to want to speak up and not stay silent about issues in society. She’s such a wonderful writer – people like her let me fall in love with poems and stories even more than I already am. If you haven’t seen her blog before, go and give her a follow – she deserves every single view she gets!

My Nominations

Like Chloe, I’m nominating everyone I mentioned here as well as anyone else who wants to do it! If you’ve been nominated already, don’t worry about it. Also, regardless of whether you’ve been nominated or not, you’re fantastic bloggers and people.

I also nominate:

Astrid

Emillia

Ebe

Evie

I really hope you enjoy doing this! I certainly loved it – thanks, Chloe, for creating it again! You’re awesome.

From Elm 🙂

The Liebster Award Number… 4?

If I had to pick a favourite award, I think this one would be one of them. Why, you might ask, when there are so many out there? Well, this award is simple (I won’t start calling it cute, don’t worry). It was the first award that I ever did which got me connected to bloggers, back in the day where I had literally no idea how to blog or what a blog even was.

I was nominated to do this fabulous award by my amazing friend Lu from Lu Reads, who’s posting style is just brilliant. Thanks so much for nominating me! If you don’t know who she is, go and check her blog out, especially if you adore books as much as I do.

The Rules

  1. Thank the blogger who has nominated y
  2. Answer 11 questions from the blogger who has nominated you
  3. Nominate 11 blogs
  4. Ask them 11 questions

Lu’s Questions

1. Favourite drink?
Erm… Probably tea. I love tea. So much. Do I care it’s not healthy to have lots of it. Well, yeah…

2. Favourite cake?
Cheesecake or a really rich chocolate cake. I adore chocolate; for some reason I don’t like other cakes as much… I haven’t had it in such a long time though.

3. What’s the reason you started blogging?
I really needed an outlet for my emotions; I didn’t know what I was feeling at the time of starting and I knew that to have somewhere to write them down would let me process them a bit more. As well as that, I wanted – and still want – to help people by showing them that they’re not alone in what they go through. The reasons I started blogging are still the reasons I continue, along with the encouragement from all my online and real life friends.

4. What are you reading?
Well, nothing at the moment. I’m just about to start reading either Moll Flanders or Lady Chatterley’s Lover for my English work but I also want to read some contemporary or Sci-Fi novels… Basically anything. I’m a huge bookworm!

5. What was the last film you watched?
A really shit one called Silent Hill (it’s based off a game). As you can tell, I disliked it; I watched it with two of my best friends and my sister. Part of my reason for disliking it was because I had no idea what was happening. In addition to that, it was a “horror” film. What can I say – I’m easily scared.

6. What’s your favourite album at the moment?
Ahh, I’d say Ed Sheeran’s latest album. It’s utter gold; his voice is heavenly; I love it so much. From that, my favourite song has to be Perfect. However, I’m not really an “album” person.

7. What’s the craziest dream you’ve had?
There was this one where bloggers turned up at my house… That was odd. Another was where I was at Glastonbury
Festival but for some reason the stage was in a classroom? I don’t understand my dreams. A performance was happening but instead of singing, the person was telling us about their life and experiences. That one was relatively recently, though I can’t remember what exactly happened.

8. How long have you been blogging?
2 years and 4 months exactly! I’ve only just realised it’s my mini-blogiversary!

9. Do you speak any different languages?
Ever since I quit French AS-Level, I don’t. I’ll probably pick French up after I finish University (I’ll have to get through A-Levels first). I really did like the language.

10. What are you planning to do this summer?
I’m having a friend over next week, another friend over the following week and I’m going on holiday after Results Day followed by a concert with another friend… I never thought I’d be so busy. Along with that, I’ll be doing some work at some point… I hope.

11. What is your favourite season?
Autumn, simply for the feel of the leaves. There’s a perfect balance between warm summers and freezing winters; even the air feels right.

My Nominations

  1. Bitz
  2. The Girl with Ironwings
  3. Teen Girl Life
  4. SparkleFox
  5. Smiling Dreamer
  6. Very Punny
  7. Ash
  8. Holly
  9. Ana
  10. Tash
  11. Gracie

My Questions to You

  1. What’s a song that you feel summarises your thoughts right now?
  2. When was the last time you felt happy and why?
  3. Do you like books? (IF NOT WHY? *screams hysterically*)
  4. Do you often find yourself thinking about the past, present or future?
  5. If you’ve made a difficult decision recently, what have you learned from it?
  6. If you had to choose between always travelling abroad but never being able to travel in your own country or always travelling in your country but never being able to go abroad, which would you choose?
  7. What’s your least favourite instrument?
  8. Can you cook/bake? (I only ask because I can’t)
  9. Do you get emotional easily?
  10. What kinds of posts do you most like writing?
  11. How do you resist negative pressure to do something from others?

There you have it! I really hope you enjoyed my answers and the questions I set you!

If you haven’t been nominated for this, feel free to do it anyway – in fact, that would be wonderful! Whether you’re nominated or not, it doesn’t decrease your worth as a person.

Love from Elm 🙂

The Mystery Blogger Award!

It’s been so long since I’ve done an award and I’m sat here mildly disgusted at myself for being so bad at this!

I was nominated by the lovely pair at Findthebeautyy to do this! I found their blog recently and think they’re fantastic; check them out if you want a wonderful variety of posts! Thanks for nominating me; it means a lot.

Although I’ve done this award once before, I thought I’d revisit it because I remember loving it so much. Created by OkotoEnigma, it’s described by her as “An award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging; and they do it with so much love and passion.” I think that this perfectly captures the essence of blogging!

The Rules

1. Put the award image or logo on your blog.
2. Thank the person that nominated you and link their blog in your post.
3. Name the creator of this award and link their blog in your post.
4. List the rules.
5. Answer your nominator’s questions.
6. Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.
7. Nominate 10-20 people.
8. Ask your nominees 5 original questions of your choice.
9. Share links to your best blog posts.
10. Notify your nominees by commenting on their blogs.
There’s so much variety in this and it makes me happy! Right, here we go.

Findthebeautyy’s Questions

1. What is your reason for starting your blog?
I needed a place to vent my feelings out – an outlet – and I wanted to help people with their feelings too because everyone deserves to be heard. After the end of my last blog, I wanted to start again and I thought Elm was the perfect name and way with which to do it. Turns out I was right and if I can help at least one person through this, I’ll be happy.

2. What motivates you?
Motivation has always been a struggle but the main thing is when I know it’ll help me or someone else. Also, my life experiences give me motivation to either do something or not do something: when doing work, my main motivation is that I know that in the long run, it’ll have a positive outcome. Then again, I do have short bursts of that motivation; I need to work on it.

3. What is the most important thing to you?
This is so painfully cliché but it’s making people happy and helping them. I thrive most when helping others rather than myself and I think it’s so important to make other people smile. Of course I’ll look after myself but for me, I’m happy when others are too. Luckily, it’s a principle that has remained constant for me.

4. Who’s the most important person in your life?
Ahhh I’m not sure; I can’t name one specific person. My dad is very important to me as well as my friends and someone I was previously in a relationship with as all of them shape me as a person. It’s so difficult to choose – nope, I can’t do it. I’m so indecisive!

5. What makes you happiest on a bad day?
Having fun with friends which lets me remove the sadness. I really like positive atmospheres and so when I’m laughing, I’m the most happy even when I’m miserable. Smiling makes everything better, I think.

3 Things about Myself

1. I hate the feeling of sand on any part of my body apart from my hands.
2. I hardly ever watched TV when I was younger; I just listened to audiobooks and played outside.
3. When I laugh too hard I cry and then people often ask me what’s wrong; also my laugh is one of the most obnoxious things you could ever hear.

My Nominations

1. Sunset
2. The Anonymous Girl Writes
3. Formerly Myself
4. Maitreyee
5. Astrid
6. Smiling Dreamer
7. Indiesonglyrics
8. The Small Quiet One
9. Just A Blank Space
10. Rainbow Girl
11. Elsie LMC

Whether I’ve found these blogs yesterday or two years ago, all of them have beautiful writing styles and are unique in how they express themselves.

My Questions for You

1. Have you ever been in love?
2. What’s your favourite instrument and why?
3. What do you admire about yourself?
4. If you could take one lesson you’ve learned from blogging away with you, what would that be?
5. At the moment, what’s the thing you most want to do?

My Best Blog Posts

I critique myself a lot so this will be really difficult.
My Blog in the Real World
I’m Not Scared to Say What my Fears Are
Why I Write How I Do

I hope you enjoy answering those questions and if you don’t know any of the bloggers I’ve listed in my nominations, check them out! You won’t regret it.

Love from Elm 🙂

Why I Love Me Tag!

I’m a culprit of disliking myself sometimes. I find ways to criticise parts of my personality, without restembering that there’s plenty that I do actually love about me. So, this tag – created by Tash is perfect to remind me.

Thank you so much for nominating me, you beautiful human. You honestly brighten up my day because you know exactly how to make me feel better: you spread positivity, something that all of us need right now. Creating this tag is just the start of that positivity.

The Rules:
1. Post the award on your blog
2. Acknowledge the blogger who nominated you
3. Leave a link to the original tag creator (ThoughtfulTash) to get a bit more info about WHY this tag has been created!
4. Write 10 things you love about YOURSELF and WHY
5. Nominate at least 5 other bloggers
6. In the comments of the blog post, spread more self-love with compliments to each other!

WHY I LOVE ME:
1. My laugh
I love how varied it is. My quiet laugh is soft; when I try to stop myself from laughing it turns into a wheezing giggle and the best part of my laugh is when I lose control of it. I sort of screech and can’t stop; I love it because it makes other people smile and makes me feel unaccountably happy. It’s neither restrained nor forced.

2. My weird phrases
As the people who have spent enough time around me will know, I sometimes come out with the weirdest things. It’s part of what makes me me – I’ve said “Awww diddums!” too many times recently; “Ohh nooo I feel so sorry for you your life is so hard oh dear” in the most dead and sarcastic voice ever; I’ve also said “I’m going to burn your house down!” even though I’m scared of fire. It’s an original part of my personality and isn’t changed by anyone: it’s the true me and when I say things like that, I know I’m utterly being myself and not hiding behind anyone else. Also, they’re just funny to say and it shows I don’t care about what people think of me.

3. My singing voice
This is another thing that hasn’t been changed by other people. My voice is strong and I can hit the notes in my register: it’s improved and I love singing so much. The main thing I love about it is that I’ve retained my accent; even if it makes words harder to sing, I almost sing how I speak. It makes me feel more genuine because I’m not trying to put anything on and I know I’m not faking anything.

4. My writing style
I have a great vocabulary and I can utilise that to express my feelings. My writing flows naturally: I can tell when to be formal and informal. I also know how to help people with my writing because for me, writing goes hand in hand with helping.

5. My kindness
Whatever happens, I always strive to be kind to people. Even if they’ve been awful to me or hurt me, I’ll always try to be the bigger person. I know that I’d always lend a hand to literally anyone that needs it: I feel positively about my personality for it.

6. How I look after my health
I may not do much exercise but I look after my skin and body – I do stretches because my muscles are tight and I wash my face every day, as well as having a routine. It makes me feel positive and grounds me in place if that makes sense – I love it because I’m taking control of a part of my life.

7. My love of books
I love all types of books: fantasy, historical fiction, science fiction – anything. When I talk about books, I feel happy and become animated; I could rant about a good book for years. In fact, I’ve been known to cry because of how happy a book has made me. People don’t see this side of me often but when it does come out, I go into full fangirl mode and it makes me grin.

8. My hair
Though I don’t have a perception of what the colour is, I’m told it’s a lovely shade of brown. It’s thick, going down to my mid-back and when I brush it, it feels so smooth – it’s naturally straight too. I love it because it’s something that I’ve never criticised: feeling it being blown by the wind is a glorious feeling and brushing it calms me down.

9. My music
Not only do I love how I don’t restrict myself in my music taste, I love how I can write songs. When I get inspiration, everything just fits together: I know how to get my meaning across in lyrics; it’s a form of poetry to me. I combine art and writing well and I know I’m good at it: I won’t sell myself short.

10. My dedication to my blog
Through all the turbulance of life, I’ve kept to this blog. Even when I felt like giving up, I persevered – I really admire that about myself. I never stopped and never truly wanted to; it’s something I love with all my heart.

My nominations:
1. Lu

2. Cheyenne

3. Kate

4. Aspen

5. Mahriya

I hope you enjoy doing this and spread the love, everyone! You’re all brilliant. Never criticise yourself for something that other people adore about you.

From Elm 🙂

The Uniquely Me Tag!

Hi!

Often, I feel like people – including me – push themselves into the background and simply don’t let themselves be heard. It can be because they feel afraid or simply because they forget that they can speak up about themselves and that they aren’t like other people.

After yet another of my personality crises in which I tried to convince myself that I had nothing in the way of interesting things about me – that I was a sheep, always following the crowd – I had enough. An idea for a tag, both for me and all of you, sprang into my mind with such ferocity that I had to pause for a second to check that I was alright because usually, I don’t have these “I’ve HAD A GOOD IDEA I’m ORIGINAL!” moments. That’s another reason why I created this tag and after much deliberation – involving asking about 5 people for their feedback and getting people to vote on the name – I came up with the Uniquely Me Tag.

To make this all official-looking, I’m going to write out some rules, do the tag, nominations and so forth and have a little more of an explanation at the end. I’m doing this too, to remind myself of my qualities.

The Rules

1. Thank the person that nominated you for this tag and link to their blog (spread the love, basically).
2. Write as many things that are unique to you as possible: these can be things that you do, say, like or have that make you different to other people or let you stand out. It can be what defines you as a person, a little thing about you that is just simply you or something little known that you think makes you up as a person.
3. Nominate up to 10 bloggers or as many as you like; there isn’t a limit.
4. You can take this tag as seriously or non-seriously as you like; you can laugh whilst doing it or feel contemplative: this is about you, after all.
5. After you’ve written this and if you ever feel like there’s nothing to you but what other people have already said and done, look back to your post and remember that it isn’t true.

DISCLAIMER: If a tag like this already exists, I’m sorry for accidentally copying your idea; if you know if there is a tag similar to this then do let me know and link me to the creator so that I can give credit where credit is due.

Unique Things about Me

• When I laugh too hard, I end up screeching or making this high-pitched sound that kind of makes me sound like a mouse
• When I’m around tall people, I try to act as tall as possible (this can include standing on tiptoes, purposefully standing on a higher step or bit of an escalator or just pretending to exude tallness)
• I have an old coin collection that belonged to my grandfather and various other people which I adore taking out and feeling the different shapes of shillings, pennies and everything in between
• I like to find voice recordings from the very early years of sound technology, like the 1890s, because it fascinates me to listen to those little bits of history
• In the room I have at my dad’s house, I have a shelf which has a bunch of ornaments and interesting things on it that I got from my grandma, some beaches and little things that have been given to me; I scattered them on the shelf in no particular order and that’s the only thing in my room that’s like that
• As a joke, I’ve taken to saying “AWWW whinge whinge cry cry!” in the most baby-like, patronising voice ever whenever something mildly unfortunate happens to either my friends and I and it’s got to the point where other people have started saying it (I’m so proud)
• I’m able to comfortably cringe at my younger self and almost own how embarrassing I was
• All of my accents are terrible and I spontaneously break out into little phrases that are meant to sound like they’re one accent but end up sounding completely different
• I make such a joke about me being single and wanting to stay that way that blogging friends of mine have come up with the hashtag #Forelmveralone and I say that all the time now
• I have a tendency to advise people on their lives, so much so people give me the nickname of Grandma Elm sometimes
• I absolutely bloody love the Eurovision Song Contest and I’m unapologetic about it
• When I’m experiencing high emotion, I talk to myself so that it feels real
• I sometimes stand in the dark and think about space, the universe and existence

My Nominations

These are all bloggers I love and want to talk to more because their personalities are amazing:
1. Ash
2. White Bear Online
3. Girl Masked
4. Kirithika
5. Infinity
6. Jasmine
7. Misstery
8. Bloggingsunsets
9. Life in a Blogshell
10. Tash
11. All the Jazz
Anyone else who wants to do it can! Don’t hold yourself back if you haven’t been nominated: you’re still just as unique as ever.

This is a way to celebrate you as a person, as an individual, taking into account all of the qualities that make you different. Being different is what gets me through life, anyhow. You aren’t boring, dull or uninteresting: there are plenty of things that only you will do in a certain way. Embrace it!

From Elm 🙂

The 2016-2017 Tag!

After about a milennium, I’m coming back with another tag. I know, the surprise is extraordinary!

I was nominated by Waves of Awesomeness who is so creative, and writes extremely well, for the 2016-2017 tag! I’m so excited to do it, and thanks for nominating me and leaving such lovely comments on my posts.

This tag was created by Davide from #theguywhosaidalwaysno who’s blog is just brilliant!

The Rules:
1. Mention the creator of the tag. Done!
2. Use the image in the article. Okay this is getting ridiculous – I need to sort out this image thing.
3. Mention the blogger(s) who have chosen you.
4. Answer the questions.
5. Tag 9 other bloggers and let them know. (I’ll do this VIA pingback)

Yaas question time!! (I need to calm down)

1. Describe your 2016 in 3 words
1. Painful
2. Beautiful
3. Self-development (that isn’t an adjective but just roll with it)

2. Write the names of two people who have characterised your 2016:
1. My ex-boyfriend S (he helped me to grow as a person and come to a lot of realisations about myself)
2. L because he’s been just such a good friend and all around amazing person

3. Write the most beautiful place you visited in 2016 and why you liked it so much:
Paris, because it was filled with new experiences and memories, and because I got to appreciate real art and sculptures in a museum for the first time ever. It was extremely emotional, but as was also one of the most real trips
:’ve ever been on, and made me realise exactly who I had and why the people around me meant so much.

4. Write the most delicious food you’ve tasted in 2016:
Italian pasta. Aaahhh, it’s glorious; much better than it’s English counterpart.

5. Write the event which has marked you more of this in 2016?
The breakup I experienced in 2016 where I was cheated on, because it abblowed me to remember that anger wasn’t the right solution to anything, and that there are more than just two sides to a story.

6. Write the finest purchase you’ve made in this 2016, and if you want to link a photo:
Ohh… It’s quite sad, but all of the beauty products I bought – makeup brushes, actual makeup, a lovely moisturiser, because I was taking control of my own look and health.

7. Write three good intentions for this 2017:
1. Be happy or try to be.
2. Get more motivation for studying and working.
3. Appreciate everyone I can.

8. Write one place you want to visit in 2017:
I’d say Barcelona or Berlin, because I have trips planned there in October and June respectively.

9. Write one plate/food you want to eat in 2017:
I desperately want to try goose because it’s traditional, and quail. I’m becoming more adventurous!

I nominate:

Aspen
Sprinkle of Anonymous
Evie
The Differentiated Eccentric
Kate
The Magpie
Kate Hawkins
Inspired Teen
Tanya

Hope you enjoy doing this! Argh, I miss doing tags.

Love from Elm 🙂