Leibster Award

This is the sort of chain mail I like. For those who don’t know, the Leibster Award is essentially this awesome kind of chain mail that let’s small time blogs more connected.

As I have been nominated by Broken Glass Shimmers, who like me writes about her experiences with mental illness to break down the stigma (you should go check her out), I am required to now nominate 11 other bloggers, write 11 random facts about myself, answer the 11 questions that were set for me and write 11 questions for my nominees to answer.

Let’s begin!

11 Facts about Me:

1. Joy Curtis is a pseudonym I write under as my real name is very unique. Also I was named after a hobbit.

2. Which is appropriate considering as a full grown woman I don’t quite reach 5 feet tall.

3. My biggest fears are of sexual abuse, losing my family, or hurting others.

4. I am pansexual – I am attracted to men, women, and everything in between.

5. I did so well at school my teachers were shocked I wouldn’t become a scientist or lawyer.

6. I am a passionate social activist. I fight for equality across sex, race, religion, and this blog is just an extension of my fight against the stigma around mental illness.

7. My deepest insecurity is that I’m too selfish

8. My biggest regret is not breaking up with my high school boyfriend sooner.

9. The most important person in the world to me is my younger sibling, L.

10. When I was 2 years old, my older brother offered me the last chocolate biscuit. I took it but instead of eating it, I sought out L to give it to them.

11. I think equality and social activism is so important to me because when I was 13 and made the mistake of saying my life is so hard, my dad spent the next two weeks making me research topics such as current wars, the third world, child marriage, poverty, etc. and write essays on them. I think it worked…

My Questions

1. When did you start blogging? (Age and length of time ago) .

Not including a cooking blog I started, made one post in and forgot about 2 years ago, I’ve only been blogging for a few weeks as an 18 year old.

2. What is the category of your blog?

Mental health

3. You’re on a desert island and can only bring one book, what would it be and why?

An encyclopaedia on edible wild plants… for shits and giggles?

4. Which social media account of yours do you use the most?

Absolutely Facebook. I’m a complete addict. But if you want to connect with me you should try Twitter

5. Do you read any magazines?

I read Bitch Magazine, a feminist publication (the kind of feminist that’s awesome, not the kind that hates men), on occasion.

6. What was the last thing you watched?

Family Guy. One of my favourite shows.

7. Same desert island, what celebrity would you want to be stuck with and why.

Robin Williams – right from when I was a little girl he always made me laugh and be happy. Since I found out he had Bipolar and lost to it, I’ve felt a sad connection with him. I would have liked to meet him.

8. Why did you chose your blog’s name?

I love to bake and it reminds me of things like “and add just a pinch of salt”. Many things make up the recipe of who I am. Including just a touch of crazy.

9. What is your dream job/career/life goal?

My dream in life is to make a difference, and this consists of a lot of smaller goals. I want to be a primary school teacher – the kind that doesn’t teach kids how to pass exams but how to live life and enjoy learning. I want to be a mother, raise my own children to be thoughtful and caring. I want to help a homeless man get back on his feet, I want to foster children, I want to sponser those in the third world, I want to donate to charity and participate in protests. But in the end, so long as just one person can look at me and say “Because of her, my life is better”, I’ll be content.

10. Who are your top 3 favourite bloggers?

Honestly, and this is quite bad as I write a blog myself, I’m not much of a blog reader. But I guess I like Natasha Tracey’s blog (the most well known Bipolar blogger), Upworthy, and Bitch Magazine’s blog.

11. What is your guilty pleasure?

I could say that my guilty pleasure is being able to sing (badly) every Frozen song (among many other Disney movies), but I feel absolutely no guilt over this.

Your turn!

To those I nominate, answer these:
1. Why did you decide to blog?
2. If you could describe your writing style in one word, what would it be?
3. Do you write under your real or fake name? Why?
4. What do you do outside of blogging?
5. Don’t be shy – what are you most proud of about yourself?
6. What was the last picture you took with your phone?
7. If you could wake up in the body of someone else, who would you pick and what would you do?
8. What cheers you up?
9. Are you still learning who you are?
10. What is the weirdest thing about you? Are you proud of it?
11. Your dream in life?

I nominate:
Lily Pups Life, a fantastic blogger who also writes about Bipolar
The Crazy Writer, who is a brave survivor of cancer among other things, and now blogs about writing
Blahpolar Diaries, another great Bipolar blogger
The Musing Mule, a general blogger with beautiful photography
Orange Owl Diaries, a beautiful writer with a beautiful blog
Shouting into the Silence, who writes about their mental health issues
The Girl in Glasses, a style and lifestyle blogger with a gorgeous blog
Andy’s Wanderings, another great photoblogger
The Eleventh Letter, only read her latest post but it’s wonderfully written
The TJ Blog, a talented general blogger
My Kind of Pop Culture, an entertaining pop culture blogger

Now all of you, if you choose to accept, should write a post linking back and thanking the person who nominated you (after all, I went through and selected each of you with purpose, not just as the first blog I saw), choose 11 people to keep sharing the love, write 11 facts about yourself, answer the questions, and write a new set. Good luck!