Discovering blogs with a Liebster Award Nomination

I’ll admit I had never heard of a Liebster Award. But now I’ve read about it, it seems like a great idea to connect with and discover other blogs. It also gives readers a bit of an insight into the writers’ personality, outside of what they normally write about. Something a little different!

Who nominated me?

Thank you Jack Haines from The Field Biologist for nominating me for the Liebster Award! I love your blog, it’s got some great insight into what goes on in the field and I hope it continues to grow. If you haven’t yet read it, please do check it out, as well as the blogs that I’ll be nominating myself for a Liebster Award. I’ll list them for you at the end of this post.

How does it work?

Right, so what does this all involve? Basically, a blogger nominates other bloggers for the Award and asks a bunch of questions for the nominees to anwer (the more unique the better!), then the nominee writes a blog post answering those questions and nominating others to do the same with a whole new set of questions. Simple, but effective! Jack Haines posed the following questions to me as his nominee, and he certainly hasn’t made it easy!

1. Can you sum up what you do for a living in five words?
2. Do you think you’ve ‘made it’?
3. What advice would you give to 10 year old you?
4. What advice would you give to 18 year old you?
5. What did you believe with all your heart when you were 18, but now you know is not so?
6. What is the meaning of life?
7. What movie would you recommend that everybody see?
8. What book would you want everybody on earth to read?
9. What niche subject are you secretly really into?
10. What natural phenomenon amazes you the most?
11. If you were allowed to pass one law in your country, what would it be?

My answers

Can you sum up what you do for a living in five words?

A PhD on orangutan behaviour.

Do you think you’ve ‘made it’?

I don’t think anyone ‘makes it’. It makes it sounds like you had one goal all of your life and suddenly fulfilled it. That’s just not how life works. And to be honest, that would be pretty boring, because once you’ve ‘made it’ then what do you do? Sit back and relax, basking in your success? No thanks. And those who do pursue the idea of ‘making it’ are putting a lot of pressure on themselves, when perhaps this ideal does not exist and may never feel as being fulfilled. I believe that your goals, dreams and principles develop and change over time. I’ve known since I was in primary school that I wanted to pursue a career in zoology and go to university. I kept an open mind, but I never wanted to change my direction in life, i’ve simply always been hooked! But that doesn’t mean that my views and goals haven’t changed. When I was at primary school, I didn’t know what a PhD was and I thought that the only animal-related job in a zoo was that of zoo keeper. The more you learn about and gain experience in the industry that you want to work in, the more you learn about what opportunities exist and what you like and dislike. Biological science is such a dynamic field, who knows what the future will bring!

What advice would you give to 10-year-old you?

Don’t worry too much about the future, remember to enjoy the present.

What advice would you give to 18-year-old you?

Don’t worry too much about the future, remember to enjoy the present.

What did you believe with all your heart when you were 18, but now you know is not so?

The fact that boycotting is more often than not a suitable solution. As an 18-year-old I thought that where good animal welfare or sustainability standards were not met, boycot ought to be the answer. However, it isn’t that straightforward and often there are better solutions. Most of the time, it is education, funding and resources that drive improvement related to conservation, welfare and sustainability. In that case, boycot will only help decrease those drivers. Just because a situation is less than ideal, it doesn’t mean a company or it’s staff are necessary bad news. Especially if they are people working in conservation or animal care, they are often very hard-working and dedicated, but have to cope with the constraints of funding opportunities and available alternatives. As a visitor or consumer, your money is your power. So for example buying sustainable products instead of boycotting the product type altogether will have more impact. I think it is important to look into a situation more in-depth before deciding whether boycot is the best anwer.

What is the meaning of life?

If we’re talking about life on earth in general, in all its shapes and forms, I guess it’s meaning would be to exist, coexist, breed, adapt and evolve. In terms of human life, I think it probably shouldn’t be that different, except we’re not that great in the ‘coexist’ part. But it seems to be in our nature to ponder whether our lives as individuals have meaning. I think that instead of wondering whether there is some purpose to our existence, we should just focus on trying to be the best version of ourselves and to be passionate, enthusiastic, understanding and kind in whatever we venture out to do.

What movie would you recommend that everybody see?

I’m a huge movie fan, so this is an incredibly difficult question. There are so many good options, but if I had to choose one it would be Star Wars (4-6, you pick!), because I love sciencefiction and it has such great characters. Princess Leia inspires women empowerment and Yoda gives you the best life quotes.

What book would you want everybody on earth to read?

Again, a really difficult question. I like books that are based in philosophy and psychology, so take your pick between Animal Farm, Life of Pi and Lord of the Flies. If everybody on earth read books like these, perhaps people would be more understanding of human actions and gain more insight into their own behaviour as well.

What niche subject are you secretly really into?

Philosophy. I took it as a subject at secondary school and I absolutely loved it. That’s why you might see an aspect of ethics occassionally appear in some of my blog posts. I think philosophy is a set of theories that helps you consider what is right and wrong, helps you consider the best course of action and helps you analyse and understand human behaviour. In conservation particularly, I think it has a lot of relevance.

What natural phenomenon amazes you the most?

Bioluminescence.

If you were allowed to pass one law in your country, what would it be?

I immediately think of something that to me personally is very imporant. A ban on keeping primates as pets, with stricter enforcement and phasing out of primates currently kept as pets.

My questions

1. Describe a normal work day for you, in no more than three sentences.
2. What do you think is the biggest issue facing the survival of wildlife today?
3. What has been the most memorable experience of your life?
4. What is your favourite place in the world?
5. If you could be any animal for a day, what would you be and why?
6. What advice would you give to a starting undergraduate student?
7. What language that you do not yet speak would you like to learn?
8. What is your favourite movie quote, and from which movie is it?
9. If you could travel back in time, how far back would you go back and what would you want to see?
10. If you could travel into the future, how far into the future would you go and what would you want to see?
11. What impact do you aim for your blog to have, and how do you wish for it to move forward?

My nominees

I would like to nominate the following blogs for this Award (regardless of number of viewers and in no particular order!). Of course it is completely your choice, but I hope you take up the challenge and I look forward to reading your answers!

Stare Down the Barrel of a Gun

Birds and City Heat

Hiral Naik

IndiEnvironment

Carolyn Thompson

Best Regards from Far

Definearth

The Inquisitive Biologist

Dispatches from the Field

Barreleye Zoology

Nature on the Edge

What to do if you are nominated

This version of the Liebster Award has five rules. They are:

1. Acknowledge the blog who nominated you.
2. Answer the 11 questions your nominator asked.
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers.
4. Ask them 11 questions.
5. Let them know you have nominated them.

Find more information about the Liebster award here.

You might also enjoy reading the CENTA research blog, a collection of articles written by PhD students funded by the Central England NERC Training Alliance.

Please feel free to comment in the section below!