What an honor! Brendan Birth at Blind Injustice nominated this blog for the Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award because of this site’s racial equity project, Intersected. I highly recommend checking out the repost of his nomination and reading the other bloggers he mentioned who are doing similar work!
He asked a few questions, which I will answer here:
- How did you get into blogging? I began blogging in 2014 as a second-semester college freshman in order to process some of the ways I was growing and have an outlet to write. It was mostly for myself at the time.
- What made you interested in blogging on the subject(s) you blog about? Faith, culture, race, the DRC — these were all topics I was learning about, interested in, and believed were important. They are still at my core. The Memoirs of the Trees series is a little different. It was begun as a way for me to keep up my creativity and honor some of the trees that shaped my experience. I encourage you to learn from their words! And Intersected, my latest project, was formed recently after a discussion with one of my best friends, Layla, because we wanted to help continue the momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement. It’s a more focused expansion on the content I’d already been producing.
- How, if at all, did the pandemic change the way you blogged? It didn’t. My posts have always been sporadic, since I wrote primarily for myself. But with Intersected, it’s not for or about me, so now I am focusing on growing the readership and posting regularly with that team. Technically the project was begun in the pandemic, but it was inspired by the BLM movement and the urge to take the next step.
- How, if at all, did the recent attention on racial injustice change the way you blogged? See the previous questions!! It’s become a focus for this time, and we hope to keep it going for a while.
- If you could give just one piece of advice to a new blogger, what would it be? I have three, sorry: Know your audience. Always back up your words. Finally, be creative, and have fun!
I would like to link out of WordPress for my own nominations and point you to two fabulous people via podcast: Kiki Francois at Kiki’s Corner and Henry Golatt at the My Day Off podcast.
I knew Kiki Francois from back in the Office of Multicultural Development at Wheaton College (IL). She is now in seminary at Emory University, and her weekly podcasts discuss the cross-section of Biblical principles and culture. She’s a self-described “theo-activist,” and you can listen to her worthwhile content here.
Henry is a friend of mine from a previous worship team. We have been on a few adventures together, and his social media, music, and podcast will brighten your spirits. He is perhaps the most fun (read: ridiculous) person I know. If you need a smile, check out his music. If you want to listen to something loving and real, with more depth, check out his My Day Off podcast!
I know nominating these two candidates is cheating since they don’t have WordPress accounts on which to write back, but they’re the content I’d like to promote during this season, and they have other public platforms if they’d like to respond!
Nonetheless, here are the rules for the award:
- Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.
- Answer your nominator’s questions.
- Nominate up to 9 other bloggers.
- Notify your nominees.
- Ask 5 questions.
- List the rules and display the “Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award” logo.
Thus my questions for Henry and Kiki, wherever they choose to answer, are as follows:
- What motivates you in your vocational calling?
- How would you define love?
- Who is your neighbor?
- As a Christian, can you speak to the reality of depression?
- What song or artist has been replaying in your mind all week?
Thanks for reading! Please stay tuned for future posts and subscribe to be alerted whenever a new post is published!
Peace and grace,
Skye
katelyn skye bennett 