Year six

/ Meg

Cupcake


I’m back, friends! And not a moment too soon . . . because today is actually write meg!’s sixth birthday, and I wouldn’t want to miss the party.

And by “party,” I really mean a blog post. Because I’m still fighting jet lag, have barely been sleeping, am getting ready for our big move and feel slightly like I’m losing my mind. But, you know, if anyone has cupcakes handy . . .?

(We must party with cupcakes.)

Six years ago today, I wrote my first blog post — which was all of three paragraphs long. I didn’t know what I was doing, had no “vision” for the site . . . I just knew that I liked having an online presence and had created websites before (fan pages dedicated, in turn, to Hanson and ‘NSYNC. Woo ’90s?). Plus, I really missed my English program in college. Missed words and books and reader camaraderie.

I was 22, a year out from the University of Maryland, working as an assistant editor at the same newspaper where I’m still happy to return each day . . . and without a creative direction, really. A friend told me about WordPress and blogs and, given how bored I was on my lunch breaks, I started doing some research.

One of the first book-related sites I found was Rebecca’s, followed by Smart Bitches, Trashy Books — and the whole idea of discussing books really gained momentum with me. I didn’t write my first book review (Jennifer Weiner’s Little Earthquakes) until September, but then I was really on a roll.

If you like statistics (me me me)? Since June 3, 2008, write meg! has . . .

• Published 1,540 posts
• Posted 421 book reviews
• Received 18,209 comments
• Been Freshly Pressed by WordPress (here, here, here)
• Welcomed many pals into my life


Of everything on that list, I’m most proud of the final point. Blogging has shaped me into a more confident writer — but none of that would mean much if I didn’t have folks in my corner. We’re our own little cadre of friendship and sharing and great books, aren’t we? When I was on vacation last week, I missed y’all. Missed your encouragement and thoughts and fun.

I’ll admit that, at times, I suffer the occasional identity crisis. write meg! has no main focus, no singular platform. I write about books, yes, but I also write about cupcakes and decorating and weight loss and photography and, for a while, wedding planning . . . and down the road, I imagine I’ll also weigh in on motherhood and babies and home chaos. (And maybe gardening, because I really don’t know what I’m doing out there.)

But that’s good, I think. It’s me. Dear Melissa wrote a post about this very topic last week, and I nodded along with so many of her points. I’ve never dreamed up write meg! as anything other than my own little corner of the Internet to share anything and everything, and I feel immeasurably fortunate that it’s brought so many kind, wonderful people into my life along the way.

Thank you, thank you.

So many of my biggest moments — happy, sad, joyous, uncertain — have been pieced out and sewn together with words right here, and I can’t imagine not making my way to this space each weekday.

I hope I never do.


22 thoughts on “Year six”

  1. No cupcakes for you but very well written personal blog, and I hope your jet lag don’t make you to tired. I think you must keep writing blogs so more can learn about you and your life, with the ability to understand how your feeling and thinking.

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  2. I agree with everything you say you’ve received through blogging. I’ve only been at it two months now but I couldn’t be happier doing it. Your record is pretty impressive. Well done (o:

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  4. Congrats! Just passed my one-year of blogging date. Feels good. Your comment about gardening made me laugh. I took it up when my youngest was little because he was interested and it seemed like the next thing for me to do. We had no idea what we were doing and made lots of mistakes, but we are still growing things out there!

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  6. Congratulations on 6 terrific years! We started about the same time – I’ll be celebrating 6 years next week. It took me a few months to figure out my focus as well. We’re practically blogging twins!

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  11. Happy birthday little blog baby! You’re six! And yes, the friendships and the piecing things out and sewing them back together. It is the best part of this whole blogging thing. Thank you for reminding me. xo (And, let’s talk about gardening, yes? I only have the fire escape for containers but I’m trying to learn too.)

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  13. Congratulations on your big anniversary! You have always been a wonderful writer, and I am glad you created an outlet to share your talent and gifts with the world. Love from your very first fan, Mom

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  17. Cheers! Wishing you a happy 6 years!! My blog will be 6 in a couple of weeks and wow how it’s changed! I’m so happy to have found you, and a wonderful support network of blogger friends. I’m looking forward to seeing your future adventures!!

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  18. Happy 6 years! That is truly an awesome accomplishment. I hope you continue to blog for many more years…your blog is one of my favorites! Congrats!

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  20. Awwww! Happy six years Sweet Meg! I’m so glad that I know you through blogging (and all of those other various platforms) and I LOVE that you don’t have a singular focus for this blog…I’ll be the first to admit that the pictures and personal posts interest me more than the books these days. I can’t wait to see what the next year brings you in life. I’m sure it’ll be amazing. To many more!

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