I am very grateful to have been nominated by a wonderful blogger, Emily, for the Sunshine Blogger Award. Emily is a PhD student in genetics, and her blog, harperphd, is fantastic! It’s a real honour to have received her nomination.

The Sunshine Blogger Award is given by one blogger to another in recognition of their inspiring, creative and motivational blogs. There are a few rules for accepting the nomination:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog
2. Answer 11 questions the blogger asks you
3. Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions
4. List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

These are the questions I was asked:

1. What is your favourite thing about blogging? I love reading through previous posts and thinking about how I perceived people and things around me… and realising how much I have learnt from many experiences. If I didn’t record my memories, I would forget a lot and might not even remember each step of my progress.
2. Is blogging something that comes naturally to you? Or is it more of a challenge? It comes naturally and it’s part of my daily routine. Mostly, I update my weekly diary on a Saturday, but I’m constantly updating the draft version of my post with ‘achievements this week’ and ‘goals for next week’.
3. Why did you decide to take on a PhD? It’s a long story. The short version is that I am addicted to both study and coffee.
4. What motivates you to keep on going when PhD life gets tough? During the two years, I have been working on my PhD, there have been many times when writing has been difficult. I try to share such feelings and struggles with my colleagues or write on my blog. Fortunately, my colleagues give me great advice. That motivates me, always.
5. What is something that is commonly misconceived/misunderstood by the public in your field? My field is Health Communication, and my focus is patient-centred care in primary care settings. The field has been broadly and varyingly defined – not only by academics, but also by the public, which always surprises me! We cannot talk about it as one broad concept.
6. How different was your life a year ago? During the first year of my PhD, I did a lot of teaching. I was very busy creating teaching materials and responding to students’ questions. I did not teach in my second year because I was away doing my fieldwork. Now it’s the summer break, so I can relax a little bit and focus on my research.
7. What movie title best describes your life? Roman Holiday. I am not a princess, but doing a PhD is a time of such pleasure and adventure.
8. If you were given a robot to take over a single aspect of your life, what would you ask it to do? Sleeping.
9. What is worth spending more on to get the best? Books.
10. What are you most likely to become famous for? Hard to say, but hopefully my work in my field.
11. What is the one piece of advice would you give to those aspiring to take on a PhD? As soon as you start your PhD, create a routine for writing.

My nominations
Here are my nominees for the Sunshine Blogger Award. These bloggers are a real mix. Some are PhD students in different fields, others are influential professionals in education, food and business. They all inspire me!

1. Melanie and the typewriter
2. Harriet Lowe
3. My story in a blog
4. Curiouser and curiouser
5. Experience PhD
6. Ash Schwarzer
7. Milk, Chai & Honey
8. KIRAANNJAPAN
9. The Godly Chic Diaries
10. Program Success
11. PhD Talk

Questions for the nominees:

1. Why did you start blogging?
2. Spring, summer, autumn, or winter?
3. If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
4. What is your favourite vacation spot?
5. Where is your dream place to live?
6. What is one way you relieve stress at the end of the day?
7. If you could have one wish granted, what would it be?
8. What is your favourite movie?
9. What qualities do you look for in a friend?
10. Where do you find inspiration for your blog posts?
11. Do you own any pets?

I always love reading the blogs of all my nominees, and I am looking forward to hearing your answers. Thank you again, Emily!