Tiffany M. Davis

Over the holidays, I was surprised and honored to be given a Very Inspiring Blogger Award by Kalisha Buckhanon of the Negression blog.

When I blog, I usually just write about what’s percolating in that creative yet dystopian landscape that is my brain. It can be hard to swallow, sometimes, as I’m not known in real life for pulling too many punches. That being said, it’s nice to be recognized by a peer as contributing something of positive value.

Per the parameters of this award, I should list seven things about me that you probably don’t know. Those things are:

• I hate carrots and artichokes (they are DARK-SIDED)
• I am severely arachnophobic (afraid of spiders)
• I’ve been previously published in two nonfiction anthologies (which are, alas, currently out of print, but available for large sums of money on used book sellers)
• I started my post-college career in healthcare, including direct patient care, research, and as a policy analyst for a healthcare nonprofit in Washington, DC. Stayed in this industry for over ten years.
• Tea is my beverage of choice. Hot, cold, winter, summer…it’s all good. Black teas, of course. 😉
• I’m an only child
• I was a professional restaurant chef for 4.5 years in the Bay Area and Miami, FL areas (yep, went to culinary school and everything), and did my externship at Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, CA (Alice Waters, anyone?)

The parameters also state that I need to pay it forward and nominate fifteen blogs that I, too, find inspiring. This was a challenge, since I don’t read a lot of blogs, although I get a lot of email updates (and I read them in my email, not necessarily the actual blog page–I think that counts LOL). Also, a lot of times “inspiring” tends to be synonymous with “uplifting” and “positive”; inspiration can also be borne of anger, injustice, and frustration, so long as it’s properly channeled. The blogs I list below have inspired me in one way or another: some by laughter, some by tears, some by dismay. Quite a few I discovered via Blog Her and National Blog Posting Month. So without further ado, these are the blogs that have caught my eye over the past year, and in no particular order:

1. Negression
2. In Search of His Face
3. Black Girl Nerds 
4. My Life Runs on Food
5. The Culinary Life
6. Jonathan Beverley
7. My Black Mind
8. Mimi G. Style
9. Life In Training
10. Rhymes With Mascara
11. My So-Called Glamorous Life
12. A Little More Sauce
13. Stand Up and Say OW!
14. Cancer Is Not Pink
15. Jeneration Why

Now I have to contact the members of these blogs and tell them I find them (and their blogs) inspirational. Maybe they’ll respond, maybe they’ll ignore. *shrug* Oh well.

Your mission, dear readers, if you choose to accept it: if you want to share the love, here are the rules for this award:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and add a link to their blog.

2. Display the award on your post. 

3. Proudly display the award logo (or buttons) on your blog, whether on your side bar, ABOUT page, or a special page for awards.

4. State 7 things about yourself.

5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.

6. Contact your nominees to let them know you have nominated them. Provide a link to your post.

Alright…that’s done. Get to nominating!

Thanks for stopping by.