2013: A Year of Boobs, Books, and Battling Sexism

I can't believe it's 2014 already. So much happened in my life in 2013, and this year will bring about even more changes. However, some things will stay the same. My love for my own boobs and my hatred for body-shaming. My love for books and my regret that I don't read enough. My love for feminism and my disgust of sexism.

Before we jump into everything 2014 has to offer, let's look back at my blog in 2013.

January

In January, I blogged four times. I don't have a favorite post from that month, but to date, My Boobs Have Nothing to Do with You has the third most page views of all time.

February

February doesn't really count because I took my blog offline. During this month, I got a new web design and my own custom domain. I rebranded my blog from Confessions of a Virgin to Finding My Virginity.

March

I somehow managed to blog nine times in March, which I think was a record for me at that point. I wrote a few really good posts that month, and I shared an anonymous guest post. The guest post, Stand Up, Take Action, has the fourth most page views of all time. As much as I love my post on men and sexual assault statistics, and my post on Christian feminism, my favorite post from the month explained my blog's new direction, in How I'm "Finding My Virginity."

April

I had TWO guest posts in April, and the overall unofficial theme for the month was consent. 

May

May was a little cray-cray, because I successfully completed the "Blog Every Day in May" challenge. Wow! My readers loved Misbehaving and Making History, a look at my favorite quote and why. But IMHO, my post on princess culture is one of the best posts I've ever written, Belle, the Disney Princess.

June

In June, I started my bikini series, several blog posts that criticized modesty culture overall and an anti-bikini blog post in particular. My Bikini Answer: I Am Not Cake was both my favorite post that month, and in my top ten most popular posts of all time. 

July

I continued my bikini series in July with My Bikini Answer: Sexual Attraction is Not Lust. Again, it was both my favorite post and y'all's favorite post, with the most page views that month and NINE reader comments, most of which were very long and engaging! 

August

August brought another bikini post (are you noticing a trend yet?), which again had the highest number of page views that month. Apparently I am not the only one who is against modesty culture and for bikini freedom. In My Bikini Answer: All Women Cannot Prevent the Lust of All Men, I pointed out the hypocrisy and sexism in asking women to cover up for the sake of men. But my favorite post that month was actually when I explained the Top 5 Reasons I am Not a Lifestyle Blogger.

September

I went off the grid for about ten days in September, to enjoy a houseboat vacation with Beau Vierge and his family in Tennessee. While I was gone, three of my friends guest-posted for me. I was pretty proud of my post Confessions of a (Future) Feminist Bride.

October

I was really busy in October, and my blog posts were slightly lazy. Real life happens, you know? But I ended the month on a high note, with 3 Easy Tips to be a Good Wife.

November

So... November was also busy, and I was also lazy. I did write one killer post that garnered a ton of comments. My reaction to the viral post on marriage is Actually, Marriage is for (Both of) You and examines some of the dangerous thinking in the original viral work.

December 

I worked really hard on my blog this month, which resulted in a ridiculous total of FIFTEEN blog posts. Gift Ideas for Busty Women quickly ended up in my top ten most popular posts of all time. My favorite post was my review of the December chapter in Rachel Held Evans' book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood. 

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In 2013, I also read 39 new books, sadly quite short of my goal to read 53. Oh, well, working two jobs for the first ten months really hurt my free time. I didn't quite review all of them, but you can check out my master list of book reviews. 

I made a ton of new blogging friends, like Casey, Jess, Betsy, and Amanda. The fact that they were/are expats might indicate my desire to get back to France...

I spent money on my blog for the first time.

I started blogging more often, and I stopped worrying about writing perfect, critical essays for every blog post.

I started showing pictures of Beau and me with our actual faces!

All in all, I think it's been a good year for Finding My Virginity. 

And I couldn't have done half of it without the support of my friends and readers. Y'all are seriously the best. Every comment, tweet, DM, and email is truly cherished by me. Your encouragement keeps me going. 

Look forward to some new surprises and changes this year. Some big things are happening in my personal life, and they will eventually have a big effect on my blog. I can't wait to share them with y'all!

Happy New Year!