Hey everyone! Recently, Riddhi @ Whispering Stories celebrated reaching 1,000 followers. Again, congratulations on achieving this feat! To commemorate this milestone, she created the Eximius Blogger Award. I am honored to be one of the first nominees. Thank you Riddhi for the nomination! It is, as always, greatly appreciated.

So, let’s get into it!

What is the Eximius Blogger Award?

The Eximius Blogger Award is an award that symbolizes the exceptionality of every blogger. Eximius is the Latin word for exceptional, and this award is created to honor the exceptionality or uniqueness of every blogger out there. This award is for all those bloggers who put an insane amount of effort and thought into all of their posts and come up with exceptional content! This award is all about you!

Rules
  1. Use the official logo/graphic of the award and display it on your blog post. (The featured image of this post)
  2. List the rules
  3. Tag the original creator: Riddhi @Whispering Stories and the person who nominated you!
  4. Mention the most exceptional thing about you and your blog (One about you and one about your blog).
  5. Mention one thing you find exceptional about the blogger who nominated you (To show love for the blogging community!)
  6. Answer the three questions posed by the person who nominated you.
  7. Share your favourite blog post that you’ve written.
  8. Ask your nominees any 3 questions of your choice.
  9. Tag 7 people! (Because 7 is such a magical number!)
About Riddhi

Thanks to the blogging community, I got to meet Riddhi. I have tuned in to her blog. I was amazed by the things she writes and the subjects she writes about. I couldn’t believe that she was younger than me. Despite her age, she has already accomplished a lot, both as a writer and a blogger! And it was not difficult to understand why she was achieving all of these milestones. She is an exceptionally talented writer and poet. What was even more astounding was the amount of thought she places into each piece she writes. I am grateful that she also tries her best to acknowledge and recognize her fellow bloggers for their works. Again, it warms my heart that I get to be nominated for this award.

Riddhi’s Questions

1. What is a book/movie/song that you associate with your favorite festival?

This is a tough one because I really don’t have a festival I could really call my favorite. I am an introverted person, hence, I always shy away from festivities. For the spirit of the question, I am picking Baguio City’s Panagbenga Festival. It is a festival to celebrate the blooming of flowers; panagbenga is the local term for the blooming of flowers. It does remind me of Pasadena’s Rose Festival. Panagbenga, however, celebrates all types of flowers, many of which are being cultivated in the areas surrounding the city. More than a celebration of the blooming of flowers, the festival is also a celebration of the rich Cordilleran culture.

Now, for a book that I associate with this festival. This one is tough. I guess I will go with Anchee Min’s Empress Orchid, a novel inspired by China’s last empress. It is also the story of a young woman who took over her own destiny to wield power and influence. As to music, I was thinking about Build Me Up Butter Cup because of its upbeat rhythm. I am not much of a movie-goer I guess that’s why my memory is failing me on what movie I can associate with Panagbenga.

2. If you could live a celebrity’s life for one day, who would that be?

Because I love reading, I was thinking along the lines of famous writers. I was thinking of maybe living as Paulo Coehlo or even Haruki Murakami for a day. I want to understand their thought process when they work on their masterpieces. Olga Tokarczuk would also be an interesting choice because there is something distinct about her prose that keeps me coming back for more of her works.

3. What is the most exceptional natural phenomenon in the world, according to you?

I guess this will sound cliche but I think the aurora borealis (northern lights) is one of the most astounding feats in the world. I first heard of it when I was younger and my mind was immediately filled with amazement. How can those wonderful colors float above the night sky? Not only do they float but they seem like they were dancing. I was in awe and it was for this reason that witnessing the aurora borealis at least once in my lifetime has become part of my bucket list.

Favorite Post(s)

I surmise that this is supposed to be one post only. But then again, I had challenges picking up which single piece stood out. For instance, I’ve always loved my post about the kindness I received from a Korean mother during my temple stay experience in Seoul. It is also about the hospitality and the kindness we receive from unexpected sources. Let us shower the world with kindness and love! I also liked The Autumn I Learned to Ride the Bike, in which I shared how I felt successfully biking in Nami Island and the thoughts accompanying it as well.

Of the over 300 book reviews I’ve done, I’ve always favored my book review on Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits. It was a book I really enjoyed and, in my personal opinion, it was one of the most well-written book reviews. Uncharacteristically, I completed the review within a couple of hours. A normal review takes me days to complete!

My Questions
  1. What has inspired you to write or to start blogging?
  2. If you could choose to be a mythological / fantastical creature for a day, what would you choose to be and why?
  3. How has blogging changed your life? What was the most rewarding thing?
My Nominees

I want to reiterate that none of you is under any obligation to do this tag unless you truly want to. I totally understand if this is not your cup of tea. Happy blogging!

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