The Liebster Blog Award

Earlier this week, Anituke from Yes We'reTogether -- a great blog sharing stories and thoughts meant to challenge people's perceptions of interracial romance -- left a comment on my post Being African-American in Iowa:Economy. She wrote that I'd won the Liebster Award! After doing some searching to see what that award means, I discovered that it is legit, and is a way to showcase blogs that are worthy, but have less than 200 followers. 

Thanks much to Yes We're Together for linking empatheia with your excellent blog! It is totally an honor to be listed with the other blogs you chose--you named some of my faves. And I'm happy to find two new blogs to follow, too! 

The purpose of the award is to give visibility to worthy, lesser known blogs with fewer followers.

The rules of accepting and receiving The Liebster Blog Award are:

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.
2. Link back to the blogger who awarded you.
3. Copy & paste the blog award on your blog
4. Reveal your 5 blog picks.
5. Let them know you choose them by leaving a comment on their blog.

It is very hard to narrow this down to 5 blog picks...I subscribe to many, many blogs in my Reader feed. These are some of my favorites. A couple of them are written by people that I consider friends because of connections we've made through our blogs; others I am still getting to know, but I greatly admire. Please give them a visit and consider following their wonderful worlds.

1. Is That Your Child? is a blog that accompanies the podcast of the same name. Both the podcast and the blog teach me something new each week about the world we live in.
2. De Su Mama is filled with the beauty of a mixed family who inspire me. Besides the wonderful photography and beautiful love letters to the author's daughter, I am also inspired by Vanessa's Personal Identity Project.
3. Ezzy Languzzi is a true friend who is teaching me Spanish, sharing unique images captured through photography, and inspiring me to read and re-read books that broaden my  horizons.
4. The Lifestory of a Bookworm is filled with stories that challenge me to think about "otherness"--supernatural beings, unexplained cultural phenomena from Chicano culture, and the personal stories of the beautiful spirit who writes them.
5. Life Behind the Wall fascinates me. A black woman living in China? I am learning so much about how cultures can intermix and about courage.