Blogger Recognition Award

I've been nominated for a Blogger Recognition Award by Flirty, Dirty, and Oh So Nerdy! Thank you so much! I love to write, I love fandoms, and I love psychology, and being able to write about these things and have them serve the purpose of connecting with others or entertaining them means a lot.

Thank you!

This award was created by Edge of Night, and these are the guidelines:

• Select 15 other blogs you want to give the award to. Do some digging if you must! Find those blogs. You cannot nominate yourself or the person who has nominated you.
• Write a post to show off your award! Give a brief story of how your blog got started, and give a piece or two of advice to new bloggers. Thank whoever nominated you, and provide a link to their blog. List who you've nominated in the post. Make sure to also attach the award itself! (You can do this by right-clicking, saving, and uploading the image above). 
• Comment on each blog and let them know you've nominated them. Provide a link to the award post you created. 
• Provide a link to the original post on Edge of Night. That way, anyone can find the original guidelines and post if needed, and we can keep it from mutating and becoming confusing.

Origins of 'Psycholo-geek'

I started Psycholo-geek ("psychology" + "geek" ;D ) a few years ago, but I have been more active over the past several months. When I started this blog, I did not intend to write consistently, so initially I posted once every several months. At some point last year, I decided I wanted to connect with other geeks of similar passions, and I wanted to use my blog as a place where I could analyze the things I wanted, write about my love of psychology and multiple fandoms without others telling me I was wrong, and continue to develop professionally and personally. I wanted to write freely. I claimed the URL "psycholo-geek" ("psychologeek" was taken) and started to write more consistently.

In the field of psychology, most mentors and professors emphasize the importance of maintaining strict boundaries in order to keep a professional relationship with our clients. Professors taught me that it was "inappropriate" and potentially "unethical" to post pictures of myself online, even in a private Facebook. At some point I had to realize that despite all their knowledge and good intentions, the majority of these professors and mentors were digital immigrants and not very familiar with or open to the way things are now, digitally speaking. The cultural landscape is changing, and so must the field of psychology if we want to move with it and not be left behind!

So I disagree with their view of boundaries. I think you can have healthy boundaries while maintaining an online presence. I don't think that those professors were at the time truly aware of the role and importance that technology plays in our lives these days (the school only recently obtained a Twitter account, and they don't believe that geek culture is a culture). Maintaining the type of boundaries the way I was taught is just not possible unless you don't want to exist online at all! And this is not good for business either. I decided to do it my way, and keep a transparent online presence. Being genuine is important in everything you do.

Advice for Bloggers

My advice for other bloggers is: write about what you truly love and what you know. Doing something that you love can be a very cathartic experience.

I think it's important, and nice, for bloggers to celebrate each other. We don't have to rely on numbers or popularity, or whether we know "important" people.

My Nominations

I have been reading a lot of different blogs lately, lifestyle, geeky, roleplay, etc. I like how they write about the cons they go to, the games they play, the outfits they put together, and for some, I like the stories they write, the art they create, and their humor. I would like to nominate the following people for a Blogger Recognition Award, in no particular order (please be aware that some links may be appropriate for 18+ only):

Seven Deadly Cynics
Her Story Arc
dePepi
Ravalation
How To Fangirl
Entreri-Artemis
The Pin Up Moose
Daily Dose of Dean Winchester Feels
Nerdy Ninja Platypus
Dutch Geek Girl
Nerdy By Nature
Infelixxanima
Pistachiozombie
TheJarlaxleBaenre
Cateaclysmic

It is optional to participate in this, so please do not feel obligated to accept the award.

Thanks again!