I never win.

Raffles, bingo, coin flips–the universe generally tilts away from me.

So, I was surprised and honored to be nominated by Riya at High Noon Journal earlier this month for the Blogger Recognition Award!

Riya is a fairly new blogger charting the course of her life as a twenty-something. I admire her for detailing her journey as a young woman, currently living in China, far from her native India. Riya talks about her upbringing, what spirituality means to her, how to live a good life, and just what good luck is. With luck, we will be seeing much more from her in the coming year.

For my part, I feel lucky that Riya stumbled upon my blog. Thank you, Riya!

What the Blogger Recognition Award is all about:

This award is the most widely used and very popular among WordPress bloggers, both new and old. It’s all about fostering growth and recognition among our community. It encourages new bloggers to showcase their blogs, support and share fellow bloggers’ creations, get valuable advice from experienced bloggers, and share their own experiences. Everyone nominated is encouraged to participate, though the choice to participate or not lies solely with the individual. (No pressure.)

What my blog, Rust Belt Girl, is all about:

I’ve been “reading and writing the Rust Belt” from a female perspective (pretty much the only one I’ve got!) here at Rust Belt Girl for more than seven months now. But I still feel like a newbie. It has been a wonderfully rewarding experience to reconnect with my native place (the U.S. Midwest) through other writers’ stories–autobiographical, journalistic, editorial, and fictional.

I’ve gotten to interview Rust Belt authors; collaborate with Rust Belt photographers; write reviews; hone my essayist’s pen; and muse about hometown foods, music, and more. And it’s been a joy to share some of my own fiction with this community of engaged bloggers. I’ve said before how disheartening it can be to send off stories I’ve  crafted, revised, reworked, and reworked again to some unknown journal editor–only to have my literary “babies” summarily dismissed. It comes with the territory of writing, but it can be deflating.

On the other hand, I feel a buoyant reciprocity with this community of bloggers. Not “like for a like” or “follow for a follow” kind of silliness, but two-way street stuff. I hope I inspire even a tenth of the amount of inspiration I’ve drawn from my favorite bloggers.

My advice to fresh-out-of-the-box bloggers: connect, connect, connect. Reading the words of others will never diminish your own writing but will inspire you to create. And that’s why we’re here, right? I’m an active swimmer in the Community Pool and recommend it highly.

To all nominated, below, you may accept this award and write a post about it if you wish. To all my followers–and those who just happen by–thanks for your readership! I hope you’ll take a moment to check out…

My award nominees (in no particular order):

Everyday Strange for–you guessed it–posting everyday…and posting really thought-provoking quotes and longer posts

Intensity Without Mastery for stunning nature photography out of Ohio and unvarnished honesty…and for entertaining the idea for a blog collaboration that made my blogging year

Ocanagan Ocanogan for “uniting art and science in the earth” through photographs of this blogger’s Canadian environs and through literary poetry

Chasing Patches for chronicling a journey–and connecting with other bloggers–while aboard a $1 boat!

Midwest Bliss for presenting Midwest lifestyle in a positive–and oftentimes hilarious–light and for an entertaining look into the daily calls of a paramedic

Brilliant Viewpoint for offering up a unique story from around the world once a week (or so)–I mean, a Mongolian camel-bookmobile? I’m sold!

A Prayer Like Gravity for the coolest photographs of a rusty place and for poetic lines like: “today I am a bird with bones made out of air.” Nuf said

Rust Belt Boy for the inspiration and insights

Zecrombryan for bold truths and stories and for reminding me (in the Community Pool) that we’re blogging here–not just writing

The Book Chief for keeping my shelves full!

Blogger Recognition Award rules:

1. Write a thank you section for the blogger who nominated you.
2. Write briefly on what this award is about.
3. Provide your thoughts on how you started your blog and what it’s about.
4. Share your experiences along your blogging journey for fellow bloggers both new and experienced–to give valuable insights into your blogging efforts.
5. And finally, nominate 10 of your favorite bloggers for the same and let them know by commenting in each of their blogs about their getting nominated by you.

Thanks again, Riya, for making me feel like a winner out here in the blogosphere.

In the very funny words of Sally Field, upon receiving an Oscar:

And…Happy almost 2018 to all! ~ Rebecca