On the off-chance a handful of people still read this, I thought it was worth writing a goodbye post. (Nicole please don’t kill me.)

I loved this blog. And I still do. I started writing in August of 2010, which was four and a half years ago. Time certainly freakin flies.

What started out as a blog to recount a camping trip around the states with my best friend turned into an interesting window into my life. I remember the exact day I decided to keep writing after our road trip was over; I was petrified to keep writing without a specific agenda that was bigger than myself, but perhaps I was even more scared to let go of what writing gave me. 

With hindsight I am so thankful I kept at it. I wrote about living in DC with three guys and a dog, touring with a band I had never met, and eventually moving to Brooklyn. My time at Greatist unfolded into many posts, along with my approach to work, technology, love, and luck. I wrote a lot about running: 10Ks, half-marathons, and marathons, runs in Seattle, Eugene, and San Francisco, and the crazy challenges, setbacks, and victories endured from putting all my love and energy into the sport.

Perhaps even cooler though was I met a TON of people through writing here; people who I met in real life and who became wonderful friends (you know who you are!). I also met some cool strangers, this being my favorite comment in response to a post I wrote about hiking the AT:

I look back and can read about backpacking trips, random weekends, yoga classes, and my thoughts about living in New York City. I can also look back at these four+ years and see how my writing has evolved, how my attitude and worldview has changed about certain things, and how I simply grew up.

So what happens now? I’m still writing a lot, just not here. I have a lot of fun stuff coming up in 2015, including a trip to Nepal and Peru, two awesome weddings, and (hopefully knock on wood) finally training for and running the NYC marathon. Things are busy and exciting at work, and I have a lot of personal things I want to accomplish this year.

But I guess I just want to keep them a bit more private, and/or use these experiences to write stories in a different way or through a different lens. In other words, I think this blog has run its course, and it’s time to close its doors.

Thank you thank you THANK YOU! to everyone who has kept up with me, who has written amazing notes and emails, and who has been such an important part of my life. Sending all of the love & good energy into the new year.