Rolling the trophy.

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As you know, I was recently nominated for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award by The Do-Gooder Mama. You can read my acceptance post here.

I told you my story, and I followed up with the needful rules. But I had the last pending task of nominating 15 other deserving bloggers for this award. I don’t actively visit other blogs much, but there are a few favourites. I’ve taken my time to consider all of these, and I have my final 15.  The trophy now rolls to you. So here goes, in no particular order-

  1. http://mentalexotica.wordpress.com/ -This was a blog introduced to me by my brother when I was new to blogging. It really inspired me to start. This is such chilling and talented writing. You spin magic with your words.
  2. http://ayearofreadingtheworld.com – This is the blog home of Ann Morgan. In this blog, she talks about her journey of reading her way through all the 196 independent countries of the world. She takes reader suggestions about which book of national literature to read from each country, and then reads it!
  3. http://ofcoursevegan.com –This is a wonderful initiative to support and further a cruelty-free lifestyle. They tour some great cities for vegan restaurants, and have interesting giveaways, events, products and recipes. I have the highest respect for animal activists and environmentalists (me being an ardent one myself), and hence for the people behind this initiative.
  4. http://foundhello.wordpress.com – You just take a post-it note, write an inspirational message starting with hello, and leave it somewhere for someone to find. I figure it’s a random act of kindness type of thing; damn cute.
  5. http://theofficialhowtoblog.wordpress.com -This blog claims to have the solution to how-to-do just about anything. And it just makes me laugh. So much. Haha. And I have soft corners for people who make me laugh.
  6. http://365cupsofkindness.com -Her challenge is to buy one cup of coffee for a stranger every day for a year. She just pays for someone’s coffee in line behind her at Starbucks. It’s so incredible that one cup of coffee from a stranger can lighten someone’s day! I just love the thought behind this blog.
  7. http://101books.net – This is an interesting blog by Robert Bruce, in which he reads, ranks, and reviews all 100 of Time Magazine‘s greatest English-speaking novels since 1923 (plus Ulysses). For all you book-worms out there, you should check this out.
  8. http://57kindnesses.wordpress.com – The author of this blog turns 57 soon, and as a way to count her blessings, she’s doing a total of 57 random acts of kindness this year.
  9. http://veggiezest.com -This is a blog filled with mouth-watering vegetarian recipes. She takes dishes from all parts of the world, and adds an Indian twist to it. Me being Indian and vegetarian, find this an irresistible combo. Good luck, veggiezest.
  10. http://onlythetruest.wordpress.com -This is a series of really funny comic strips. They are so relevant and hilarious; you have to check these out.
  11. http://therandomactofkindness.wordpress.com -She does one act of kindness every day, and posts about it. Why not just be kind?
  12. http://vincentmars.com -This boy is so poetic and beautiful and strange and compelling that I don’t even know how to sum up his blog in a few words here. This is some enigma that you have to witness, please redirect and visit his blog.
  13. http://makingspacetobreathe.wordpress.com -This is a collection of lovely poetry written in a visibly skilled hand. I love your writing, Erica Petty!
  14. http://destroyeddestiny.wordpress.com/ -Laurien is a girl like me, dealing with the after-effects of a break-up. She’s a lovely poet and has been courageous to post publicly her greatest fears. You are brave and stronger than you think, Lauren; I have faith in you. Thank you for sharing your healing story.
  15. http://sukrutblog.wordpress.com – This isn’t even a complete blog (he just made it to re-blog my posts as a gesture of support for my blog), and the reason it’s on this list is not because of the blog itself, but the wonderful person behind it. Among all the people who have inspired me this past year, he takes the crown. I couldn’t have made it this far without his spoken and unspoken support, and what better way to express that to him but this Award? I love you.

These are just some of the blogs and people that are beautiful in my world. If your blog is not on this list, it doesn’t mean that I don’t find it inspiring. You are all inspiring and beautiful in your own ways. Thank you for sharing your world with me!

The Very Inspiring Blogger Award!

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I’ve been nominated for The Very Inspiring Blogger Award! And I couldn’t be more ecstatic. Thank you, The Do-Gooder Mama for finding my blog worthy of this nomination!

VIB

This isn’t one of the de jure rules for accepting this award, but as I do it, I’m compelled to first share with you the story behind my blog.

I had a very rough and messy breakup a year ago. We had been dating for over three years, and I was convinced that he was as Disney would put it, my Prince Charming. This was also one of those dealings in life where you lose ten marbles in one shot; all my friends chose to side him. Imaginably, I was lonely, wounded, scared, vulnerable, and traumatized beyond what words can describe. I needed to survive this, and there were times when survival instincts escaped me. I had lost all hope, and I was desperately seeking happiness all through it. I was blinded, but even otherwise, I knew there was no bright side to this. And hence, on January 9th 2013, I decided to stop looking for a bright side, and polish the dull side instead. I was to record one thing that made me smile every day; a challenge that would hopefully give me some brief purpose. It’s been extremely hard updating this blog when I’ve been depressed, but therein lay its real challenge.

This blog healed me.

I’m quite patched up now, so I could’ve discontinued blogging. But along my healing journey, I had found broken hearts everywhere. And I knew exactly what it felt like to be in their shoes. Hence, I decided to keep this blog, and keep updating it, lest it lend a hand to some stranger in need. I wanted to help every possible person I could through this. Amazingly, making other people happy makes you twice happier. And thus, this blog became more than a way to find happiness for just myself.

I believe every person deserves all the happiness in the world, and this was my small way of sharing it. Every time one of you left a message saying my blog made your day, I felt a little closer to achieving that. It’s funny how the people you always trusted desert you in times of need, and complete strangers can help you find your way. I’m eternally indebted to every one of you for subscribing, complimenting, liking, reblogging, and supporting my blog. Unknowingly, you have made me feel worthwhile, and helped me more than you can possibly imagine.

It’s been a massive year, bringing with it lots of good and bad changes in the way I go about my life. But I’ve survived it, and I’ve more than just survived; I’ve lived and learnt through it. There’s now again a happy person inside me, who’s simmering just beneath the surface of existentialism and incessant soul-searching. I’m still a work in repair, but I’m certainly a better person since where I left off, and I’m certainly growing.

On that note, I’m exceedingly honored and humbled to receive the Very Inspiring Blogger award. But to tell you the truth, every lovely gesture from you has inspired me more than I can ever inspire you. Thank you, the WordPress family.

Now, for the rules for accepting The Very Inspiring Blogger Award:

  1. Display the Award Certificate on your website.
  2. Announce your win with a post and link to whoever presented you with the award.
  3. Present 15 awards to deserving bloggers.
  4. Drop them a comment to tip them off after you have linked them in the post.
  5. Post 7 interesting things about yourself.

I will take my time with number 3 and 4, because as I’ve said, I’ve been inspired by each of you and picking only 15 will be an incredibly uphill task.

This brings me to the 7 interesting things about myself-

  1. I love reading, travelling, fashion, eating good food, and drinking good coffee.
  2. I have self-diagnosed OCD. I obsess over everything from untidy drawers to killing apps on my phone before locking it.
  3. I’m a geek at heart, and love my current academic course on Computer science engineering.
  4. My single biggest (and sadly, unachievable due to living in the Real World and not Avatar) dream is to put an end to all forms of animal abuse, including meat, animal testing, circuses, fur and the like.
  5. I grew up with a mentally challenged uncle (the one person in the world I’d take a bullet for), and it has shaped a large part of who I am. Fittingly, my more practical dream in life is to build a happy home for the mentally challenged.
  6. I love kids, and even though I’m just 19, I want to have lovely kids of my own one day.
  7. I think Hugh Jackman should walk around shirtless. All the time.

Watch this space for the 15 upcoming nominations. 🙂

EDIT.

My 15 nominations are out. You can view them here in this post.

My Tumblr

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I like happy people, and I love to share happiness with others. So why contain it to only WordPress? Let’s break some boundaries and move this beyond! If you have a tumblr blog, or know someone who does, do share my tumblr with them. =) It’s a replica of my WordPress blog (A Warm Place Within), and all posts get reblogged on Tumblr. Share the love, spread the happiness! Have a wonderful rest of your day. =D

http://a-warm-place-within.tumblr.com/