A Year In Review
Looking Back On My Favorite Posts From My First Year of Blogging
Holy shit.
Can you believe I’ve managed to keep this weekly boat a float for a whole year?
Yep, amazingly enough, we’ve reached the one year anniversary of my having started this blog and I gotta say…I’m fucking proud. Sure, I’m not wide read, wide shared, or turning a profit off of it, but I’ve consistently posted new writing (almost) every week and I’ve gathered a loyal little band of you folks who visit me each Friday and read whatever ramblings I’ve come up with and for that I am eternally grateful!
In celebration of reaching this milestone, I’m spending this week looking back on some of my favorite posts from my first year of blogging and sharing with ya’ll why they made the list! And though these may be my faves, I’m bringing them to you in no particular order.
Shine Registry is just so cool and I wish more people were aware of it. In case you forgot or weren’t around when I wrote about it in January, Shine Registry is a place for female entrepreneurs to sign up and ask for things they need using a registry system like you might expect for a wedding or baby shower. It’s awesome, it’s helpful, and a lot of people seem to want it to be a thing but don’t realize it already is…I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tagged Shine Registry in comments on Instagram this year. If you are in the process of starting or running your own business or know someone who is, read my post to become familiar with the idea then head to Shine Registry to start your own!
My very first post and maybe the one that holds the most special place in my heart? Girls Fuck Too is a love letter to the one holiday related argument I will never back down from….that “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is a feminist anthem and not a song that glorifies sexual assault. I wrote this as a way to make arguing with people on the internet easier by being able to just link them straight to a whole list of the reasons why they’re wrong. Amazingly enough, I haven’t seen anyone making their tired case over this song yet in 2020….it could be because nobody has the energy this time around but I’m going to pretend it’s because they’ve all seen my post and have come to the side of truth and light.
The Last of Us Part II Review - first posted 6/24/2020
Reviews are hard. I’ve written them on and off for years but rarely have I felt proud or pleased with how they’ve turned out. This one though, this one makes me feel pretty good. The Last of Us Part II has a LOT of haters but it just won Game of the Year so I mean…deal with it snowflakes. I think the trick to a good review, which I didn’t realize before, is reviewing something you actually care about and I cared about this game. Whether my opinion about it would have been good or bad, I think the passion that comes with actually caring about the piece of media you’re meant to judge goes a long way towards making readers care about your take on it.
Fat Girl Summer - first posted 6/12/2020
Body positivity, namely fatness positivity, is important to me not only as a fat person but as a decent and reasonable human being. This post earns a spot on this list because it’s the first (but definitely not the last) time I’ve publicly embraced my fatness…I rocked a two piece for the first time for crying out loud! Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean Fat Girl Summer has ended….and I’m still serious about getting those embroidered jackets for anyone who wants to join the club!
A Change is Gonna Come - first posted 7/3/2020
I included this one in my favorite blogs because the message is important and we can all use a reminder from time to time. Six months on from when this was first posted and our country continues to be in turmoil. Until we topple those in power who seek to divide us and give platform and voice to those who are usually silenced, there’s not much to celebrate. Here’s hoping that in the next 6 months, we have a real reason to celebrate the United States again.
More and Less - first posted 1/3/2020
Remember when I had goals for this year? LOLOL! Reading back over my More and Less post this week I sounded so excited, so hopeful. How I wish I could go back and tell that me to slow her roll and invest in some good loungewear. Surprisingly, I still managed to accomplish goals on my list like writing more and paying off a debt but I promise you that wasn’t because I stopped mindlessly scrolling on my phone or spending needlessly. Perhaps 2021 will see an improvement on that front, but for now, reading over last year’s post was a great reminder of a healthier way to set goals and resolutions when heading into the new year.
The Start - first posted 6/5/2020
Ah yes, the great period essay. A piece of writing I’ve wanted to share for years and this year I finally gave myself the opportunity to do so. Sharing experiences surrounding periods is one of my favorite bonding activities and based off of all the comments this one got, a lot of you love it too!
Coming off of the reckoning that befell Ellen Degeneres this summer, I had a lot to say about the downfalls of niceness and the fact that being nice does not equate to being kind. It bothers me when people use the façade of niceness as an excuse to get away with bullshit and it’s about damn time that fake niceness gets called out. I had more than one person message me privately about their own bad experiences with fake nice people and I love being a space where my friends and readers feel safe venting about those kind of things. If you’re not sure you’ve got the courage to call out fake niceness when you see it…send them a link to this post. They’ll get the message.
Thanks for indulging my stroll down memory lane and thank you for continuing on this weekly journey with me!
As I begin to look into how I’d like to revamp things moving forward for year two, I gotta ask, what would you like to see more of? Do you like the essays? Lists? How-tos? Are you interested in more posts a week? What topics do you think I should cover? And what were some of your favorite posts from the last year? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!