Dear Readers, Friends, & Family:

Can't believe the day has arrived!

I wrote my first entry on this very day in 2011. Since that time I have been to the other side of the world, made hundreds of new friends since that first day, turned another year older, learned how to tweet, published 268 posts, was published by Children's Hospital Boston "Dream",  been nervous, self-doubted, written a silly poem, divulged secrets to strangers, (tried to) give advice... but above all connected and shared with you in a way that I didn't think I would ever do.

All of that was made possible because this day last year I sat down in front of the computer and thought, "What if I... shared my thoughts and opinions?" Then you came along and did the hard work for me by showing what's possible when a person takes that first step.
Thanks for that. Thanks for telling me it's okay. Thanks for all the simple things we've smiled about together. Thanks for the other things too. Thanks for so much that I don't even know you've done for me.

Although this year has led me to lots of other opportunities & allowed me to meet a whole world of people I never would have otherwise met - so much of me remains the same. I am still shy, still sarcastic, still prefer goofing off with a close group of friends, still enjoy cracking witty, still a book nerd, still zooming around, still quiet around new people, and my passions remain the same: writing and helping others. I'm sure in future years more of me will change while other parts stay the same, but I hope that whatever happens and no matter how many iProducts our world begins to depend on... I hope I will always be able to depend on my writing and my curiosity to help others. I hope that you'll be there to see me through those years, I hope you'll still be reading my ramblings at the end!


SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: 
It wouldn't be a proper birthday if there weren't presents rights?? Okay here we go...
I'm going to write an eBook ...based off of the letters I have written in this blog. Over the past year I have been amazed by how well we've been able to connect across states and oceans. The entries that have best resonated with readers tend to be the "Dear So-and-So," posts that I write. These letters also speak volumes to the fact that, to be honest, they are the posts I love writing the most!!
So I decided as a summer project to write a draft of Letters to Barriers (working title..) the eBook will be a compilation of the letters that I have already written, with an additional 15-20 or so others that I will write to be published in the book only! 
This idea has been in my head for quite some time but I've been looking for just the right content and just the right audience. As my readers you have been so very generous to provide both for me and I'm excited for this new venture to take shape!

Here is what you should know: 

• My goal is for the draft of Letters to Barriers to be completed August 1st 
• Why am I writing a book of letters? Because letters are personal, direct, fun, sad, hysterical, secretive, engaging, divulging.. all those elements that have made my best blog entries so great.  
• I am aiming for a total of ~30 letters in the end product.  
• I have never written an eBook before and largely don't know how to go about this process, but I'm learning from others who have done it before. If you have any resources or tips do let me know!
• If there are any "Dear So-and-So" letters you think I absolutely totally should write, please let me know! I am always on the search for ideas both for blog posts and for letters. 
• The best way to reach me is to go to the blog's facebook page and click on the "Message" button at the top right hand corner or email: oi.perfect@yahoo.com 
• To see some of the letters I have already written as blog posts click on "Letters to Them" underneath Main Topics I Write About on the right hand side of this page