Some mornings... Actually most mornings... I wake up (*gasp* what a surprise!), put some almost decent and clean clothes on (college is hell for your wardrobe), scurry down the stairs, force myself to eat some breakfast and then, before I almost fall asleep again, I turn on my laptop.
Every normal college student who doesn't blog checks their mail and Facebook first. Not me. I head straight to Blogger dashboard to stare at that same old lousy number: 34. 'Still 34,' a voice inside my head says, 'and that's not going to change soon, because your blog sucks.' I hate to admit it, but I actually listen to that voice. Even when there are so many awesome things about having a teeny tiny blog and being an unknown blogger. What's more, there are tons of small blogs like mine out there! We should appreciate the perks of being an unknown blogger! So to celebrate my unknownness, here's a list of my favorite advantages of having a small scale blog.

#1: Answering your comments - all of them
You won't believe how many big and beautiful blogs I've seen. The posts are great and thought-provoking and you're just dying to comment on them. So you do and if you are a little bit like me, you look forward to seeing an answer. But the answer never comes. The blogger is busy having a big blog and doesn't have time anymore to asnwer all their comments.
That's something that will never happen to be. I answer each and everyone of my comments. My blog is low maintenance, I have lots of time to answer comments.

#2: Volunteering
If you have enough time to answer your own comments and leave some kind comments on other blogs and still have some time left, you can volunteer. No chance of doing this when your blog gets too big, but at this moment my blog is small and I can volunteer at Teenage Blogger Central. Writing posts and commenting for something that's bigger than you is the most fulfilling thing I've experienced in quite a while :)

#3: That one follower
As an unknown blogger who answers all her comments, I get to know my regular commenters pretty well. There aren't a whole lot of regular commenters on my blog, but at some point someone started following me actively and that was the best feeling in the world. I think Catalina is my most active follower and if my blog had been bigger, I never would have been able to have the online friendship with her that I have now. She makes my day time after time by simply being there. That's the effect that kind comments every now and then can have on unknown bloggers andit's awesome :)

#4: Down the drain with that schedule!
At some point in time you may have had a blogging schedule. Big blogs with a 'weekly menu' definitely have a schedule, but even a blog as small as mine has a schedule. But when a big blog ingores the schedule, an angry mob of followers will go on a digital man hunt and demand answers: why didn't you post your rants on time?!
I will never have that problem with 34 followers. No one will be mad if I do Picture Perfect Memories two days earlier than usual (I hope) and I can post whenever and wherever I want, no one will have a panic attack when I don't post for a week XD.

#5: Someone new stalking you
But the absolute best part of having a blog as small as mine is going to Blogger dashboard and seeing your number of followers has gone up. Nothing can make me as happy as a new follower. I honestly walk around with a grin on my face for a week. I do a little victory dance, have a celebratory cup cake and work on my next posts with twice as much enthousiasm as before.

Even though I like having a lot of time for my followers, even though I love the freedom of posting whenever I feel like it, even though I enjoy the feeling I get when I see that someone new is following me, I still dream of having a big blog one day. But blogging isn't about the number of followers or the amount of pageviews. Blogging is about spreading and sharing awesomeness.
So always remember: Stay awesome to all your friends and followers, no matter how big your blog is! And if your blog is not big: Stay awesome too, because the world needs your awesomeness!

Some time ago, okay maybe quite a long time ago, I was tagged by MorningTime4 from The Ups and Downs of My Not-So-Average Life for the Twenty Things You Might Not Know About Me Blog Tag. I owe how a great big THANK YOU, not only for tagging me, but also for the amazing job she did on redesigning my blog!

Da Rules:
1. Copy and paste the questions below, answer them in a blog post. If you like to to a vlog version: go ahead!
2. Tag anywhere from 2-10 bloggers at the end of your post.
3. Use the title: 20 things you might not know about me blog tag. (Yes, I cheated on that one, but my God, it's such a mouth ful!)
4. Use the hashtag #20thingsblogtag when sharing on social media.


1. How tall are you?
Last time I answered this question I was 1.68m. When I saw this question was also part of the Twenty Things Tag, I ran to the wall where my Mom used to measure me and measured myself. I should've known better: I'm 18 and 1.68m is the tallest I'll ever be without creepy plastic surgery.

2. Do you have a hidden talent? If so, what?
A lot of people don't know that I have some decent crafting skills. Every year around Christmas I make tiny snowmen to put in the Christmas tree. I also make stars, sheeps, reindeer and penguins. I barely do any crafting for therest of the year, except for knotting lots and lots of friendship bracelets.

3. What's your biggest blog-related pet peeve?
I've got so many. Considering all my blogging pet peeves, it's a miracle I'm still blogging XD
One of my pet peeves is seeing that someone is following each and every one of my blogging besties, but not me. It makes me insecure and I'll be like: Am I not good enough for you? :(

4. What's your biggest non-blog-related pet peeve?
People who think their bag is a person with characteristics, needs, hopes and dreams too, in so far that they think their bag is more worthy of the last empty seat in a crowded bus than you.

5. What's your favorite song?
At the moment it's Cassy O' by George Ezra. I listened to it in Peru and it's been one of my favorites ever since. Great song to sing/scream when you're frustrated. Go ahead and sing along!

6. What's your favorite Etsy shop that isn't yours?
I'm not on Etsy and I don't visit the site anymore either. Sorry...

7. What's your favorite way to spend your free time when you're alone?
I spend most of my me-time dreaming! That can be literally dreaming, like when I'm asleep, but also the kind of dreaming you do when you're writing fiction or reading a book. As long as the activity takes your mind to a different place, I call it dreaming (unless the activity involves drugs or alcohol, in which case you're just being stupid).

8. What's your favorite fast food?
The Chili Chicken Burgers from McDonald's. They're so good, you could wake me up in the middle of the night for one of those.

9. Do you have any pets? If so, what kind and what are their names?
Nope. My Dad is allergic to everything with hair or feathers. But if I ever get a hamster, I'm gonna call him Hammibal.

10. What are your number one favorite fiction and non-fiction books?
Favorite fiction is the Hunger Games, no doubt about it. I love those books for the critic view on society. I've been a devoted fan since 2009, way before the mass hysterics broke loose (excuse my inner hipster for breaking free for a moment).
I don't have a favorite non-fiction. I just don't like non-fiction and I'm not gonna say something like 'but this is the one I hate the least', that's just stupid.

11. What's your favorite beauty product?
Ha! Have you ever seen my face? That thing doesn't do beauty! Even make-up can't save it! But I've got one single lipstick which I love.

12. When were you last embarrased? What happened?
I was at a party. I was really nervous, because I barely knew anyone except an old high school friend. He asked me if I was nervous. 'Yeah, how do you know?' I asked.
'Oh, you've got sweaty stains under your armpits.'
Well, thank you. Now I'm much more comfortable and ready to party...

13. If you could only drink one beverage (besides water) for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Hot chocolate. I drink it all year round, even when it's 30 degrees Celsius outside.

14. What's your favorite movie?
Right now it's Guardians of the Galaxy. I love the terrible, totally not sci-fi-like music, I love the bad jokes and tiny Groot is just too cute.
By the way, 'Groot' is Dutch for 'big' or 'tall'. We only pronounce it differently. Awesome, right?

15. What were you in high school: prom queen, nerd, cheerleader, jock, valedictorian, band geek, loner, artist, prep?
Definitely a nerd. Later on I became more of a hipster hermit who had as little contact with her classmates as possible.

16. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
San Francisco, without a doubt. I practically grew up in the Bay Area, I spent almost all my childhood summers there. If I ever become a super succesful writer I'm going to buy myself a house there.

17. PC or Mac?
PC, because Apple products and I have a mutual feeling of intense dislike toward eachother. I once used my friends Maurits' Mac and I was constantly panicking because it did things I didn't want it to do. I also almost broke my Granddad's iPhone (actually it was my Granddad's fault the thing was dying, but then he gave it to me so I could 'fix' it) and almost dropped E.'s iPad multiple times.

18. Last romantic gesture from a crush, date boy/girlfriend, spouse?
Well, once upon a time I went on a sorta kinda date and the guy held a door open for me... That's about as romantic as it'll ever get in my life. The date didn't work out and all the other guys in the known universe are like Apple products: they don't like me.

19. Favorite celebrity?
Do athletes count? I'm not really interested in actors or singers, but I do have the worst celebrity crush ever on British sprinter Adam Gemili (don't ask me why, just don't).

20. What blogger do you secretly wanted to be best friends with?
Secretly? The whole world may know that I'd like to be best friends with Catalina, F and Riley, but I consider all my followers who comment every now and then as friends.

Now on to the tagging!
I tag Fionnula, who recently started following me on Bloglovin' and she's the only person who follows me only on Bloglovin' who actually leaves comments on my posts! Thank you for being awesome!
I also tag Ruya Preetika, who didn't post for a while on her blog Waking Moments, but she's back now and that makes me so happy!
Have fun answering these questions and stay awesome!

Life is a weird roller coaster full of craziness, I think we all agree to that. The silliest little things can change everything and our friends can make our lives revolve around the most ridiculous things.
I, for one, am still called 'the drowning otter' because of a little accident I had over two years ago. I'm also greeted with a simple 'HODOR' and my oldest friends know me as the half-American. After that, I thought I'd be prepared for whatever kinds of craziness college would throw at me.
Fandoms, travelling and writing had been the centre of my world, piece of cake to handle. But then something unexpected happened, something I didn't know how to handle, and I suddenly found myself in a situation where my whole life revolved around... a revolving door.

Not if your name is Envy...