Sunshine Blogger Award #3

A while back, Lizzie from Starlight and Saucepans, Cecilia from Craft, Coffee and Cake, and Emily from The Bookwyrm Corner nominated me for another round of the Sunshine Blogger Award. I was originally planning on getting this posted in August, but life got in the way—I apologize, Emily, Cecilia, and Lizzie, for that. 😅

(For those of you who may not know what the Sunshine Blogger Award is, check out my first SBA for more details. And if you enjoy these types of Q&A posts, check out Sunshine Blogger Award #2 and Summer Blog Tag!)

Read on to see the questions and answers. :)

Lizzie's Questions

1. What’s your favorite and least favorite household chore?

   
   

My favorite chore is tidying up the desk, and my least favorite is cleaning the bathrooms.. .😆

2. Have you ever watched a movie-remake that was better than the original movie?

   
   

Personally, I like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) more than Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971). It's not exactly a remake, but it's what I thought of off the top of my head.

3. Which decade are the majority of the songs you listened to today from?

2010's and 2020's. I haven't been listening to a lot of music recently, except for studying, orchestra, and the radio, so the songs that I've been hearing are recent ones on the radio. I usually listen to a pretty diverse range of songs, though.

4. What’s a language/grammar mistake that drives you crazy? (Or a more general pet peeve, if you can’t think of a language-related one.)

   
   

Your asking a hard question here, Lizzie!

(Get it? 😉)

5. What’s a movie you’ve seen recently that you just can’t wait to re-watch?

Oddly enough, I can't think of a good answer to this question. The movies I've watched recently have already been re-watches, or mediocre movies. Dead Poets Society is one I'd love to watch again, but I remember every little detail, so I feel I should put it off a couple of months before re-watching.

6. What’s a movie you’ve seen recently that you never want to watch again?

Jurassic World Rebirth. It was probably the most boring movie I've ever watched, and I was deeply disappointed, but not unsurprised. I really like the earlier Jurassic World movies, but this one didn't live up to them at all.

7. You’re stranded on a desert island. You can bring three fictional characters with you: one will be your protector, one will be your moral support, and one will be devoting his/her time to finding a way off the island. Which three characters do you bring?

Moral support: Finrod. Navigator: Beleg. Protector: Maedhros.

(They're all from The Silmarillion. But if you know me, you know I love the characters in that book.)

8. If you could go back in time and ask one historical figure one question, who/what would it be?

For me, this question is really hard to answer. I guess the question I'd ask is either "What are the biggest regrets of your life?" or "Looking back, what is your biggest piece of advice?" but it's hard to think who I would ask these to. Not because I can't think of anyone, but because there are so many people I thought of and I just can't choose.

9. How would you describe your personality in just three words?

   
   

Creative, empathetic, and inquisitive.

10. What’s that one board game/card game that you secretly (or not so secretly) dread playing?

Checkers, because I'm bad at it, and Sorry, because it's completely a game of luck (so basically pointless), and because I played it with my neighbors the entire summer and am now sick of it. 😅

11. What’s a story that you think is just begging to be made into a musical? (And which, as far as you know, has not been made into a musical yet.)

I would really, really love to see The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Andersen made into a musical. I think it would be so beautiful, haunting, and emotional, and would really bring out the themes of the story.

Thanks for tagging me, Lizzie!

Cecilia's Questions

1. If you had to live out the events in a book as the main character, which book would you choose?  

It would be cool to live as a main character in the Harry Potter series or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The worlds are amazing, I would live through some pretty incredible things, and the events would test my character to the fullest, without traumatizing me. I hope. So, it would end in a happily-ever-after.

2. Favorite weird combination of flavors that everyone else hates?

I love avocados and tomatoes with honey. I’m not sure how many people have tried it out, but I can guess that it won’t suit everyone’s tastes.

3. Who are your favorite actor and actress?

Two people I thought of were Alain Delon and Julie Andrews! I wouldn't say they're my favorite, or that I have favorites, but they are both superb actors. 

4. If you had all the money in the world to buy an outfit for a ball, what would you wear? (The sky's the limit for this one - you can wear any dress, shoes, bag, hairstyle you like!)

It really depends on the vibe of the ball. I’ve always loved all the different styles of dresses. But I think what might look best on me is a High Victorian ball gown, long sleeved, dark red in color, with golden leaf embroidering, and gold lace gloves. Very dramatic. But since I had all the money in the world, I thought might as well go for the most expensive. I’m not sure how I’d really look, but it sounds beautiful!

5. Quote from a film that makes you smile/laugh?

This edit drives me crazy. Now, every time I watch the scene from LOTR, it has never been the same.

6. Social situation from a book/film to which you completely relate?

From Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. While this specific social situation hasn't happened to me exactly, I totally feel the awkwardness. It's hilarious because it's so relatable. 😅

7. Most inspiring quote from a non-religious book?

This isn't the most inspiring, but I recently found it and I really like it.

8. What personal quality do you think, if everyone possessed it, would make the biggest difference to the world?

Empathy. We would go a long way to solving a lot of the world’s problem if everyone had empathy. I feel that, if we could better understand where everyone was coming from, and not exploit that understanding, there would be a lot more connection and love in the world, a lot less conflict. That being said, if not everyone has empathy, I can also see it being a double-edged sword against those who do.

9. You have to have one antagonist from a novel tag along with you for the next six months. Who would it be?

This is a tough question! I would have Severus Snape from Harry Potter... although I can hardly imagine him "tagging along" with me. He’s not too creepy or psycho, though, and there’s definitely a lot that I could learn from him.

10. Can you speak another language? If so, which one? If not, which one would you like to learn?

Yes! I know some Mandarin and the basics of German. I would also like to learn a lot of other languages, though—all of them if I could!

11. Would you rather be an amazing homemaker and housekeeper, or be able to write beautiful poetry?

I would rather be able to write beautiful poetry, although being an amazing homemaker sounds pretty awesome. Poetry is just something that’s been a part of my life for so long that it would be devastating to stop.

Thank you, Cecilia!!

Emily's Questions

1. When did you start writing, and why?

   
   

I started writing in my spare time around age nine, when I realized that it was something I enjoyed. Around when I was twelve, I began to understand how much storytelling meant to me, and that’s when I began dedicating time every day to create.

2. Who is one person in the Bible that you relate to, at this stage in your life?

   
   

Jeremiah. Each time I read his books, I realize more how sensitive, introspective, and deeply raw his character is. He felt things deeply, almost to the point of emotional exhaustion. Even though I obviously haven’t lived a life anywhere near as hard as he lived, he’s someone from the Bible I automatically connected to—especially because he feels the hurts of the world, and because his calling was a very difficult one.

3. What would you rather have—breakfast for dinner, or dinner for breakfast?

   
   

Dinner for breakfast. Dinner for me has always been hearty and delicious, but breakfast is usually just leftovers from the night before or something boring like oatmeal or eggs. It would be really nice to have dinner for breakfast (not just leftover dinner).

4. You’re in a tough situation, but you are allowed to ask for help from one fictional character. Who do you choose?

   
   

There’s a character I really like—Beleg, from The Children of Hurin  and The Silmarillion. He’s dependable, honest, brave, compassionate, intelligent, loyal, and skilled in too many ways to count, so I think that checks boxes in the list of all the requirements I’d need from a helper. 😅

5. “What’s the motto with you?” Take some inspiration from The Lion King, and pick a motto for you, as you are right now. What is it?

   
   

“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” —Suzy Kassem

6. What is your ideal writing space?

   
   

Somewhere that’s quiet, cozy, and not too cluttered. I think it’d be nice to write somewhere up in a tree house in the spring and autumn, or in a dark academia library, with a fire crackling nearby.

7. Do you wear makeup? Why/why not?

   
   

No, not usually. I sometimes experiment for special occasions, but very rarely. Either it’s because I feel more comfortable with my natural self, or it's that I'm not very patient or skilled when it comes to applying it. Well, it's both.

8. You’ve just won the lottery. What do you do first?

   
   

It depends on how much. I would do a lot of things if I won a lot of money. But first, I’d probably make a list of all the things I want to do (travel, buy a house (or a couple houses) & land, car(s), pay for college, donate to organizations, etc.), and how much I want to spend on each, so I won’t lose sight of my goals and waste it all foolishly later on.

Then I'd spend a hundred or so of the dollars buying all things I need (or my family members need) but haven't been able to buy (because I'm kinda poor), just to feel how it feels to spoil myself. I’d also spend a while debating who (if anyone) to tell, and how to tell them. Lastly, I'll also research how to invest it... so that I could make even more money. 😁

9. Are you wearing shoes?

Yes, I am.

10. What is one thing that you might use sticky notes for, other than their intended use?

    
    

Sometimes I write encouraging messages on them, and I stick them in places for other people to read.

11. And lastly, if your next two minutes were your last two minutes on Earth, what would you want to say to the world?

    
    

I love this question! I would share the gospel. Isn’t it every Christian’s dream? It would be incredible if everyone knew about the sacrifice and love of Jesus. I would just pray that I would say it the right, for as many people to come close to God as possible.

Thank you for the tag, Emily!

For readers, thanks for sticking around. I hope you enjoyed this post!!

I know I haven't been very consistent with blogging lately, but I do have some more pretty fun posts planned for the future as well. In the next couple of weeks, be on the lookout for a autumn blog challenge (hosted by my friend Autumn Grace), a post about my favorite book, and some musings and articles. Life should be slowing down around mid-November... until then, I just have to lock in!

Thank you all for reading! And Cecilia, Lizzie, and Emily, thanks again for these awesome questions!

-Julie