HAPPY 1ST BLOGIVERSARY!

That’s right! Today Besudesu Abroad turns one year old.

I know, I can hardly believe it either. Just where did this past year go?

While I know most of you reading could care less about posts geared towards blogging– after all, this is a travel blog, not a blog about travel blogging, but I wanted to take the time to write this post anyhow. I promise my regularly scheduled content will be back tomorrow!

They say most travel blogs don’t even make it to the one year mark, so I guess this is quite an achievement!

To My Readers and The Travel Blogging Community

Although stats and numbers aren’t everything, I’m really proud of how far I’ve come, even from just six months ago. I’ve finally built up a nice community on this site and my various social networks.

I love coming back to see all the comments being left here and connecting to people over social media. I’ve been so touched by the countless messages and e-mails I’ve received! You guys are exactly why I keep writing this blog, so thank you to all of my readers and those who have continually supported me.

I also wanted to give a shout out to the travel blogging community as a whole– you guys have been nothing but amazing. Even though I haven’t been able to attend any conferences yet, I’m glad to have been able to meet up when our paths have crossed. Thank you for all of the advice given, the collaboration opportunities and for just being plain awesome.

So What’s Next?

More travel of course! I’ve been mostly stationary the past 6 months, but that will be changing soon. We have a few trips in the works, which we are getting really excited about, so you can expect to see a lot more about some new destinations soon!

I’ve also been working hard to make some professional transitions. By the time I’m celebrating one year from now I hope to have made the transition into blogging full-time, it’s a big goal– but definitely possible.

So again, I would just like to say a big thank you to everyone, I would be nowhere without all of you.

I’ll leave you with some of my favorite posts from the past year:

Top 10 Reasons You Should Travel After Graduation — One of my earlier posts and still really popular. A lesson on why you shouldn’t wait to travel.

Is Japan Really That Expensive? — The reality of the price you’ll pay to visit Japan.

How Teaching English in Hong Kong Can Fund Your Travel Addiction — When most people think about teaching English overseas, they think about moving to Korea or Thailand, but here’s why you should consider Hong Kong instead.

Things I’ve Learned Abroad — Traveling abroad can really change you as a person.

Traveling Before Tying the Knot — The importance of traveling with your partner before finally saying ‘I do’.

S#!T My Hong Kong Students Say — A funny post on the joys of teaching children English.

Japan’s Culture of Cute — One of my most shared posts, I guess people everywhere just love cute things!

How You Can Work 9-5 and Still Find Time to Travel — For some reason people have this preconceived notion that all travel bloggers are people who have quit their jobs and are on a perpetual RTW trip. I’m here to prove it’s possible to maintain your 9-5 career and still travel the world.