December 2026 this year will mark, for me, 10 years since I was plunged into the blogosphere. At seventeen, blogging was a fun hobby, and WordPress was a form of social media. I enjoyed reading interesting posts from people around the world, even making a couple online acquaintances along the way, some of whom I still think about fondly to this day. And then, on Christmas Adam (Dec 23), in the year of our Lord 2016, this blog was officially birthed.
Over the past couple years, this space has seen a ton of changes. Not just in name and domain only (fun fact, it used to be called, jessnextdoor). But as a human, I’ve also changed. It’s awesome to notice that we’ve both simultaneously evolved and matured; I, growing from a young teen in the deep trenches of her uni days, to now being a young woman, experiencing what it means to be alive in her late 20s; and this space, growing from a place on the interwebs that housed my late night random thoughts, mostly pink outfits of the week, likes, dislikes, and in retrospect, theologically unsound “inspirational” posts, to now being an online journal somewhat indicating where I am in my Christian walk. A space where I share current and past stories morphing into life lessons, and a place where I sometimes dump my raw feelings concerning the person that matters to me the most, the Lord.
The river of time featuring the past decade has ebbed and flowed with massive and little changes. And as someone who is majorly change-averse, a lot of those changes were unwelcome in realtime. Still, in retrospect, all of it has been good – for good, and for God’s glory. So, while a ton of my old posts might currently be archived (to save humanity from a major cringe-fest, lol), the new(er) posts, I would say post-2020, retain the heart of the old me, but with a new mission and vision. I still love to write, and to read, and connect with people. I still love to share and talk about things that matter to me. I still love blogging and I still really like this seamless user-friendly WordPress interface. And I will still continue to do what I love, Lord willing. But sometimes, life’s busyness may pull me away from doing these things consistently, as it has in the past. Regardless, here is 2026 me cheering on future versions of myself: to remember, rejoice over and reminisce about our small beginnings. Friends, my heart is so full and I’m immensely grateful for the wonderful changes that the Lord has allowed in my heart and life. And I’m so excited to see what else He has for me, (and for you!) in Q4 2026, and beyond! 🙂
Warm hugs,
Love,
Jess 💛
PS:
here’s a treat dedicated to my OG followers – the link to my very first blog post 😋:
WELCOME TO MY BLOG! – FIRST BLOG POST
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