9 Favorite Posts Of The Past 6 Months

In a continuation of my post celebrating the six month anniversary of The Causemopolitan, and in turn my reflections about what's happened in that time and what's next, I wanted to take some time to look over past posts and pick a few personal and community favorites to highlight here.

I've read over most of the posts and comments associated with them from the past six months and wow - you guys have been amazing too. I had no idea how much personal satisfaction I could get just from sharing my writing with the world (this means you)! I've been writing like what you've seen here since I was about 12. I have a box of journals that cover the span of my life and most of the most heartfelt writings here only scratch the surface of what is there. Even during my most recent travels for Kiva in the Philippines and afterwards in Cambodia, Thailand and Burma, I wrote and wrote in my journal. (Usually moleskin though occasionally I vary).

It feels so therapeutic to me, but I never knew anyone else would really care to read and follow along. Or maybe I thought a few people would, but certainly not the incredible response I got. Some of you beat my family hands down (except my sister Flynne. She reads every single post. Thanks sister)!

So readers new and old, walk down memory lane with me from the past six months.

• My Love Letter To New Orleans - This is what started it all. I wrote this as I was just arriving to New Orleans this past spring. It was off the cuff and from the heart. I've learned this is the best kind of post and writing to publish here. It's these heart-burning on the page posts that give me the best aha moments and you connect with most.
• The Humanitarian - Huge for me. I can't even read this without tears welling in my eyes. The connection I felt with the whole damn world during this weekend made me feel like I was going to just implode. Without this blog and to share my thoughts with you, I just might have. I set a pretty lofty plan in place afterwards. I only hope I can live up to the expectations I've set for myself.
• Not All Puppies and Babies in New Orleans - My ode to what is broken in New Orleans. Turns out honesty is the best policy. This post gets the most traction in my analytics. It seems hardly ANYONE else has blogged about the transportation woes in New Orleans and according to one guy who contacted me, a previous Kiva fellow interested in a new model for car-sharing, no one else has written about car-sharing in New Orleans at all.
• My Daydream - I took a most wistful and personal journey approach to this post. I ebbed and flowed in my words like my mind does all the time and I actually barely remember writing this. I just looked back after I was done and was like, yeah, that's how it was.
• Say Hello To Your New Kiva Fellow - Another kickoff post. Here's my official announcement about my Kiva Fellowship. Man, I had no idea what was coming did I?
• The Sweet Spot - My mom did a graduation commencement and mentioned this post - and the sweet spots of life - in her speech. To me, that's a homerun. Plus, this post really pulled a lot together for me. I mean don't we all have moments when we think "I'm in it. This is the middle of something great." We should stop and remember those moments and really cherish them, they don't come along every day.
• 6 Tips To Make The Universe Bend In Your Favor - Another favorite of mine, but also a post that got linked to a bunch. Lists are a great way to talk to an audience. I plan on doing more of them in future writings. But beyond all of that, I really believe in this post. This stuff works for me EVERYDAY. My crazy serendipitous life is the way it is because these things are second nature. I don't know how that all plays into my karma or whatever, but I believe it does.
• Bernardita Dayo Kiva Video Journal Update - This day will stay with me forever. The story of Bernardita is one of dozens, hundreds, thousands of microlenders - but it's one in a million to me.
• Day In The Life of a Kiva Fellow - This was my attempt to take you through a typical day in the life of a Kiva Fellow. Trust me, all days were not the same. But this was a really great depiction and future fellows have written me and said this really helped them out.

So there's nine. Nine of what I consider the best of the best from the past six months. The other posts I still have to write about reflecting on the past six months will be coming this week and next. Especially since I'm back on U.S. soil and able to be online for consistent periods of time and writing. So expect posts on analytics, lessons learned from starting a blog, acknowledgments and inspiration and what's next!