Welcome back to the blog. It came to my attention that my very first post was published on March 7, 2017. I can’t believe I’ve had this little blog for six years already! Let’s take a walk down memory lane.

Act One – The Movie Buff: I started this site out of spite. I distinctly remember watching an episode of Chicago PD, and rating it 2/10 in a Facebook post on my personal page. It then occurred to me: “I want a place I can store all of my movie reviews and opinions.” And so this little site was born! I continued to post one-paragraph reviews for the next few months (like Passengers and Gatsby), and a few poetry pieces ( like this one and this one).

Act Two- Practice, Practice, Practice: I continued to write movie reviews for much of 2018 and 2019, slowly improving my analysis skills. I also branched out into music reviews, particularly praising Hozier. (here, here, and here). My movie reviews slowly improved (like Dr. Strange, Romeo and Juliet, and Gone With the Wind), but the best was yet to come.

Act Three – Broadening My Horizons: The summer and fall of 2019 is when I really hit my stride! In the summer, I published this essay and this one, detailing my experience as a person who has medical complexities but isn’t “disabled.” It felt good to step out of the emotional “shallow end” of movie reviews and get more personal, and I was grateful for the overwhelming support from my community. By the numbers, my personal essays were my two highest-performing posts by a landslide! It was a great affirmation that sharing my complex and real experiences can build a strong community. I continued this theme throughout my study abroad semester in the fall of 2019. I would say this was my most prolific period. I was consistently posting once or twice a week, sharing introspective insights and gorgeous photos. This period was a “peak” for Elena’s Grace, and I still cherish that work.

Act Four – The Quiet: After I got back from my study abroad in December, I went dormant for a while. My next post was in March, and then there were a few sporadic posts throughout the summer. I didn’t have much to say for a while. The only remaining posts from this era are my reviews of the Frankenstein novel and the Hallmark miniseries. The rest have been deleted; they don’t meet my standards anymore.

Act Five – Growing Up: After I graduated college, I had no next step. I was confused and a little nervous, so I wrote about it. I wrote about my terrible retail job, my grad school journey, my logo rebrand, and other lifestyle things. I still posted a few movie and book reviews, and branched out into food content as well. I took another unintended hiatus between November 2022 and March 2023, but I’m back now.

Act Six – The Professional: This is where it gets exciting! Two major updates: First, I have a business email now! You can reach me at email@elenasgrace.com with any comments or inquiries, and I’m excited to hear from you. Secondly…drumroll please…I’m launching a monthly newsletter! At the end of the month, I’ll send out a summary of recent posts, and maybe a sneak peek at upcoming content. My “content pillars” are largely the same – cool restaurants and live music around the Twin Cities, media analysis, and personal reflectons, I’ve also updated my portfolio to showcase my best academic and professional work.

It’s been a winding road, but I’ve always loved having ths creative outlet, and I’m excited to expand this community! I hope you stick around for more cool content. That’s all from me for now, but I’ll catch you on the flip side.