Hello dear ol’ friends. I’m currently writing to you from my bedroom office, which doesn’t sound like anything too spectacular, but considering where I first wrote TNC posts (answer: my ex-boyfriend’s bedroom where I was the third-wheel roommate for several months), it certainly feels like something’s changed. Since publishing my first post on The Nectar Collective back in February of this year, I have quit two jobs and started a third, my own business. I’ve moved to two new apartments, one being across an ocean. I’ve ended an important relationship and started countless others. I even got a dog — which was quite possibly the only thing I did this year that was better than starting this blog.

Over the past (almost) 11 months, this blog has become like a priceless piece of art to me — somehow encapsulating everything from my most extreme emotions to my best advice. And aside from being a sort of diary that I can’t keep my hands off of, it’s given me more opportunities than I can count on both hands — the biggest being the chance to start my own business, to earn money from blogging and writing, and to give me the confidence and encouragement to follow my dreams, even if at one point in my life they seemed a little impossible. Even now, almost a year later, I feel so revved up to keep the momentum here going, to constantly improve this space and myself, and to reach out to more and more of the people who frequent this site. So thanks for making this place special for the both of us. Today, I thought it’d be fun to do a little trip down memory lane to recap 2013 on TNC. Enjoy! And of course, thank you.

Very First Post on This Blog

1. Wago Wago: Music, Art, and Positivity (From February 4th, 2013)

Best Advice

1. How to Be a Woman in 2014
2. Are You Having a Bad Day or a Bad Attitude?
3. 30 Ways to Feel Like You Accomplished Something Today

Best Lessons Learned

1. Life Lessons Learned From Harry Potter
2. Life Lessons Learned From My Dog
3. 24 Lessons From 24 Years

Best Posts About or By Monja

1. Musings by Monja: My 1st Birthday
2. Musings by Monja: If Monja Were a Blogger
3. The Best Decision I’ve Made This Year

Best Posts About Japan

1. Seasons of Japan
2. It’s Been Real, Japan
3. Conversations With Keiji 

Best Posts About Travel

1. Travels in Thailand: Elephant Nature Park
2. Adventures in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
3. Why the Hell You Should Travel This Year

Best Posts About Blogging

1. How I Grew My Blog
2. Bloggers Giving Back
3. Better Blogging: How to Build Community On Your Blog

Best Posts About Melyssa

1. My First (and only) VLOG
2. The INFJ: My Complex and Kooky Inner-Life Story
3. 6 Things You Should Know About Me

TNC’s Header Design, From Past to Present:

Most Comments

1. How to Grow Your Blog Like a Boss (114)
2. Life Lessons Learned From Harry Potter (97)
3. The INFJ: My Complex and Kooky Inner-Life Story (96)

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(AKA the posts that have the least to do with this blog…hey!)

1. 8 Delicious Uses for Broccoli Stems (13,000+)
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Is your favorite TNC post listed here? What is it!? I’m curious. 🙂