In past years I’ve been on hiatus during my blogversary; new academic years are challenging, and blogging is challenging, and life in general is challenging. But not this year!

(That is, I’m not on hiatus at this time, this year. All those things are still challenging.)

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On this day in 2018, I published my first post to this blog. Four years and 300+ posts have passed since then, spanning a blog redesign (which is, honestly, still a work in progress — but then again, what in life isn’t?) and the turn of the decade … among many other things.

Considering I’ve kind of always blurred the lines between the personal and the “professional” — or “bookish,” if you prefer — on my blog, it feels appropriate to add that in those same four years, I not only read and reviewed literally hundreds of books, but I also graduated college (twice), fell in love (twice), and changed career paths (thrice).

I still don’t have it all figured out (does anyone?) but I’m making progress, I think. Build a life you love and all that.

Part of that, of course, has been this blog. Although I haven’t always been consistently active here, I’ve dropped by periodically to check in with y’all and share what I’ve been up to. Every time, I say that this time I’m back for good and I’ll be back on a regular posting schedule. Unfortunately that turns out to be a lie every time … though I do think it’s worth something that I keep coming back to this blog unlike so many projects I’ve abandoned over the years.

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Truthfully I didn’t go into this post with much of a plan, maybe in part due to all the other planning I’ve been doing recently for NaNoWriMo, my new/current academic program (court reporting), and the upcoming new year. Sometimes you just gotta wing it, y’know?

But in any case, I’m so grateful for all the friends I’ve made, the opportunities I’ve had, the books I’ve learned from. There really aren’t words that can do justice to what all of it has meant to me.

So here’s to four memorable years, and to hopefully many more to come.