This is it...

So you may have noticed that in the last blog entry, I stopped updating at August 19th. Do you know what the significance of that day is?

Turns out, it marks the year-long anniversary of this blog and my 365-day photo project. It completely took me by surprise - in fact, I continued taking photos for a few days after until I realized that the yearlong mark had already passed. I was kind of disappointed because I had planned to take some big, grand finale photo!

Instead, I will leave you with this.

Just a simple, happy photo of me from a day before the end, August 18th. I took this myself while Zack and I were at Marblehead Lighthouse. Funny thing about this picture is I knew when taking this that the end was soon, but I thought it was actually the 17th (of course I couldn't check since we were away from home). I was upset I had missed it, but turned out it was a day early! Whoops!

The fact that the end of this project caught me off guard says to me that I really enjoyed doing this. And I did! It also says that maybe I shouldn't stop taking a photo a day and blogging about it. That's what happened to my Aunt Louie, who I stated a year ago was the one who inspired this project. She is in the fourth year of photo blogging and a link to her blog is on the right sidebar next to this post. I always said after 365 days of this, I'd stop. I was going to document my first transitional year of college and that was it. But it's not that easy, is it? I grew attached to my camera; carrying it around was habit and snapping a picture was part of my daily routine. I know some people asked when I started this project if I would be able to actually finish. Of course, I said yes, but in the back of my mind I wondered if they were right. But now that I'm so used to doing it, I can't believe I ever worried that I'd get tired of it or forget.

You know what else is interesting? I started and ended this blog with the camping trips that Zack and I took. We decided last summer that we were going to make it a tradition every summer, but when we planned this summer's trip, we didn't even think about when we had taken it last year. It's kind of crazy that it just happened to land in the same time frame as before, and now serves as a bookend on my blog along with the other trip.

I'm not really sure what else to say at this point - this is a bittersweet moment, to say the least. I don't want to say that I'll never photo blog again, because I do love it and it is a part of me. I was sad when I realized I was finished. However, my life is only getting busier and as you saw over this past year, although the pictures are still being taken, the updates are fewer and fewer because it takes so long to do them.

For now, just know that I greatly appreciate all of you, my readers. I know of a few people who always read my updates and give me feedback, and it means a lot to me. I'm sure there are others of you out there who I don't even know read my blog, and I appreciate you, too.

It's been a great journey, and I know will only continue to become greater. I can only wish the same for all of you. And just remember...no matter what happens in life, take it a day at a time.

-Chloe