The New Year and What's Ahead
/This blog is just over one year old. It began as an exercise in “productive nostalgia,” helping me sort through all the many things I had learned in my college career and all the myriad thoughts I had about studying, learning, growing, traveling, adventuring, and working (in the many senses of that word) as a college-aged person in this world.
When I started this blog, many of my friends worried that I would quickly run out of things to talk about. After all, they reasoned, how much can there possibly be to say about being a student?
I knew at the time that I was diving into rich and exciting territory. That I was embarking on a journey that, for me, was full of opportunity and promise.
And over 100 blog posts later, I have just as much to say about college advice as I did on the day I began.
What’s coming in 2015
First of all, let me say that I plan to continue to blog in this next year. I’ll keep on writing for high schoolers, college students, recent grads, and academically-minded non-school folks for as long as people find this stuff interesting. Learning how to learn matters, and during my student journey I found systems and mindsets that made a huge difference to me, and that I continued to feel moved to share with others.
Over these past months I’ve received multiple emails from people asking my advice. I’ve heard from high school students worried about college admissions and college freshman concerned about their workloads. I’ve heard from people about studying abroad and about writing a thesis.
These emails have been exciting and inspiring to me in ways I can’t quite express. It means a lot to know that people value my opinions and would seek out my direct advice. If you’ve written in the past, thank you. If you’ve considered writing and chosen not to… go ahead and reach out. I’d love to hear from you, either in my email (katie@mycollegeadvice.org) or on twitter at @kdcollegeadvice.
So in 2015, the blog is continuing forward. Keep checking back, folks. There’s quite a lot ahead for us.
Changes
If you’ve been following the adventures in my personal life, you’ll know that I have moved back to the US after two and a half years living in Ireland and Northern Ireland. I’ll soon be returning to Oregon, which I first fell in love with as a high schooler on my college search. I imagine that this year ahead holds adventure, opportunity, career changes, and community.
For the blog specifically, I’ve decided to add/change the following:
- Starting a mailing list. This is coming soon! It’ll include personal updates, links to things I think are exciting or interesting, and other blog-related news. Check back and I’m excited to get folks
- Starting a book club. I’ll be reading novels and non-fiction in “full nerd mode.” More details on this coming soon! Any recommendations would be more than welcome.
- I’ll be releasing several “Guides for College,” focusing on different aspects of student life. Currently underway: “The Best of Student Travel,” “Writing an Undergraduate Thesis,” and “What to Know and Do Before Freshman Year.” (Working titles) These will be longer, more comprehensive versions of my blog posts. I’m excited about this, and hope readers will be too!
- I aspire to new formats. I have a couple of short videos planned, and hope to foster my deep and abiding love of podcasts and all audio content by venturing into that arena as well.
I have big plans for 2015, and for all the adventure and progress it holds. Changes on this blog will hopefully be for the better, more innovative, and more exciting. I would love to hear from anyone with requests, comments, feedback, or offers of support. I do this for you, and would love to hear back from you!
Wish List
The holidays are over, but I have a couple of incomplete wishes for the moment. So, My College Advice friends and readers, I’d like to put out the following wishes to you:
- Please take a couple of small actions to support me. Share with friends, neighbors, high school counselors, and/or anyone you think might be interested in reading. Small actions like that make a big difference to me! So does interacting on social media (Twitter @kdcollegeadvice and Facebook www.facebook.com/mycollegeadvice). Comment on my blog posts; send thoughts or offers of guest posts. Share the word, and participate! I every time people take these actions it warms my heart.
- Offer advice for new media. If any of you have particular expertise in video or audio content creation, please get in touch! I have many plans/dreams/schemes and can use all the help I can get to make them happen!
- Recommend awesome stuff. Check out my 2014 book list, review my favorite podcasts, and take a glance over my thoughts on TV watching. I hate feeling like I’m missing cool stuff, so send me recommendations for 2015!
Here's a toast to you, wherever you might be! (photo taken in Budapest, 2012)
A Celebration
It’s always a good idea to pause to celebrate the year that’s ending while preparing for the year to come. PLEASE SEND ME THREE CELEBRATIONS FROM 2014!
My Top 3 Celebrations for 2014:
- I wrote, edited, and project managed a photo book for BASTILLE. That was an outrageously cool experience (which you can read about in my recent blog post “Saying Yes.”)
- I recognized it was time to move on from Ireland, and with gratitude and high hopes I ended that chapter to start again in the US. And I managed to include a journey on a cargo freighter to aid the transition.
- I was a finalist in the “Education” category for the Irish Blog Awards. Aside from being deeply honored, I was also overjoyed to encounter a broad range of Irish bloggers, covering topics from adventure travel to fashion to music. I’m so very grateful!
Thanks for being part of a lovely 2014, friends! Here’s to a productive, adventurous, joyful, and fulfilling New Year. I truly wish you all the best!
With gratitude,
Katie
PS Please send those 2014 highlights, and answer one or two of my Wish List items! You guys mean a lot to me, and that would make a big difference in spurring on my blog-related plans, dreams, and schemes! Thank you so much!
