20 Years of Blogging (sorta) – Redux

Twenty years ago, I started this blog with this post.¹

Ten years ago, I missed my tenth anniversary.²

This year, I’d like to celebrate with listing meaningful milestones of the past twenty years:

1. In 2004, I went on exchange to Pennsylvania. There, I worked out, became a vegetarian, started a weekly email, and learned about blogging.
2. In 2005, I studied abroad in Australia with my Pennsylvania friend, Trumpet Rob. I met a lot of people, learned a lot of things, and even had a brief relationship. Gabe the Beaver also started writing humor columns for a few papers.
3. In 2006, I graduated from New Mexico State University with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications.
4. In 2007, I quit my final job in journalism. It turns out working with sarcastic, mean people all day can wear on you.
5. In 2008, I was accepted to Duke University to start a Ph.D. program in philosophy! That was possibly the biggest change of my life ever, in many ways.³
6. In 2009, I traveled to Australia with a married graduate student friend and started a torrid love affair that left me broken, her divorced, and the department social circle ravaged. I regret how it happened, but she is now with someone else and has a child.⁴ And we’re good friends again!⁵
7. In 2010, my friend Daniel and I started Super Friend Bash. We went to Europe!
8. In 2011, I moved to Swift Avenue and became the host of so many parties. I began to live large.
9. In 2012, I started dating a beautiful, wonderful human being that I would later ask to marry me.
10. In 2013, I went on the academic job market for the first time. It was awful.
11. In 2014, I defended my dissertation and officially became a doctor.
12. In 2015, I was depressed. Work went well, but not much happened otherwise.
13. In 2016, I became a professor, culminating a journey of nearly a decade.
14. In 2017, I met Savvy, who made my life so much better⁶.
15. In 2018, I started to spiral after I broke up with my girlfriend only for that to fall apart because I missed my ex so much that I ended up going back to her and proposing.
16. In 2019, I broke up with my fiancée and girlfriend of seven years. She’s married to someone else now. I’m so genuinely happy for her and still hope to some day convey how much of a saint she was and how sorry I am for how I awful I was at the end.⁷
17. In 2020, I tried to get back in shape.⁸ I tried dating⁹ tried psychedelics¹⁰ and also some other stuff was happening in the world.
18. In 2021, I restarted Super Friend Bash, now with my new friends from Reno. If you’ve been a freader or even a lurker, please join our discord! It would be fun to meet you!¹¹
19. In 2022, I was granted tenure. I also restarted my newsletter, now in annual form. Coincidentally, my depression from 2019 finally abated. Phew!
20. In 2023, I started my sabbatical, visiting so many old friends and family, and traveling all of Europe.
21. In 2024, I finally, legally changed my name.¹²

So that’s it!

What will 2025 and beyond bring? I don’t know, but I’m excited to find out with you. And as it is, I think it’s going to go closer to my best-case scenarios than my worst.

1. It was a very bad post. [↩]
2. It was a very busy time. [↩]
3. 2008 also brought the worst day of my life, bar none, and some other changes. [↩]
4. The ex-husband probably died in a grease fire or something. Who knows? [↩]
5. We even share our Hulu and Disney+ accounts! [↩]
6. and so, so much worse [↩]
7. And throughout, as long as we’re doing a fearless moral inventory. [↩]
8. I lost 20 pounds! [↩]
9. too soon [↩]
10. too late [↩]
11. Maybe even in person! [↩]
12. That post doesn’t tell you what it is, but trust me, it’s Awesome. Really. So very Awesome. The most Awesome name you could think of. It’s so Awesome, I’m not even worried I’m hyping it up right now. [↩]