I konw it’s not just me that felt like 2024 was a never-ending trainwreck.

It was a hard year, and I’d be lying if I said it felt like anything better than trudging through mess after crisis after drama. But when I sit here and truly think about what happened this year, it’s also hard to ignore that there were some blindingly bright moments.

I think that’s why it’s felt like 2024 was so hard: I was unprepared for things to grow so fast in ways I didn’t even think to dream up. As my friends repeatedly told me, all that hard work was paying off, but it paid off in longer to-do lists and more late nights turning into early mornings. I still have dozens of videos to edit and several reviews in my drafts folder and floating around in my head, which makes it feel like I failed, and yet, if I look at the facts and stats, that’s not entirely true.

• 54 full book reviews posted om Literaryhypewoman.com
• 206% increase in views on Literaryhypewoman.com
• 211% increase in visitors to Literaryhypewoman.com
• 648 new subscribers on the LiteraryHype YouTube Channel
• Just shy of 350,000 views on LiteraryHype YouTube Channel
• Launched LiteraryHype Podcast and posted 54 episodes with more than 500 downloads
• Climbing to 10.2k followers on Instagram and 6.5k followers on TikTok (despite barely posting there due to ban discussions).
• Moderating 10 panels at comic cons around the country
• Seeing LiteraryHype listed under editorial reviews on Amazon, Barnes & Noble’s website, and inside a book. I nearly cried, y’all.

Outside of LiteraryHype, there was a lot going on for me as well…

• Changing my role at my day job a couple different times
• My new husband moved in, allowing us to live in the same state for the first time in the entire 5+ years we’ve been together
• Publishing my first book as an editor
• Editing a second book
• Giving my first keynote speech
• Seeing Ateez and Seventeen perform live
• Reading a record 150 books in one year
• Joining the programming team for a convention

So many of these things we not on my bingo card for the year… or ever, if I’m honest. Overall, I’m glad they happened, but there were plenty of mental breakdowns along the way.

Maybe that’s how you feel about 2024 too. If you look back at the year and think about how glad you are that it’s over, I’m with you. I am you. But don’t let the struggle keep you from appreciating all the gifts that were hidden in the hard times. No year is 100% bad, so look back and excavate some happy moments and focus on them instead.

Now, let’s go crush 2025.