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Today is the four-year anniversary of my blog. I’ve been writing online since September 1, 2002.

In honor of this milestone, I thought I would take the opportunity to go through my archives and list some of my favorite entries from the past. I’m only going back as far as December 2004, which is when I returned to Virginia after spending a semester in Amsterdam. I ended there because I wasn’t really writing a lot during my last semester of college anyway (early 2005), and the posts after that are just too recent.

When I started blogging four years ago, I looked like this. Take note of the fact that my haircut in August 2002 is pretty similar to how it is today—it’s been both shorter and longer since then, but four years later I’m pretty much back to where I started. The only difference right now is that my hair is lighter.

So here they are, in order of oldest to most recent.

11/14/02: Childhood memory: playing with Barbie.

11/21/02: I received mean comments when I mentioned my strong dislike for ferrets.

01/06/03: I was so accustomed to hearing crazy codewords made up by customers at my old job that I become immune to them—so much so that I failed to recognize when the person wasn’t being serious.

01/11/03: Encountering a goth-guy in Wal-Mart. (I get a lot of Google hits on this post when people search for “going goth.”)

02/23/03: Recollections of Woodstock ‘99.

03/04/03: What happened when one of my sisters lit up a cigarette in front of some cute guys?

03/12/03: My shameful past—stealing reflectors.

05/15/03: Digging through trash to locate a tooth.

11/24/03: Sometimes a smart blond does dumb things. (I get a lot of Google hits on this post when people search for “dumb blond.”)

12/09/03: Encountering scary Dancing Santas at a bar.

12/19/03: My clumsy ways—and luckily, I wasn’t caught naked by a maintenance man.

01/14/04: I wrote about how Dad made us stack wood, and he actually just brought up this post a few weeks ago. He thought I was over-exaggerating.

03/11/04: Smuggling butter through airport security on a flight to Mexico. No way would I be able to do that now, with current regulations.

03/24/04: My announcement that I would be leaving the country to spend a semester in Amsterdam.

04/17/04: Mom was worried that I was going to a place with legalized drugs and prostitution. Not able to help myself, I mused: “Do I have to get a work permit if I want to work as a prostitute in Amsterdam? Or will they just take anyone?”

07/22/04: Part 1 of 4 (the other posts are linked from this one) of a series I did called “Living Crooked,” about when I had surgery on my spine in Summer 2001.

07/27/04: I am Superwoman! I physically pried open the door to free myself when I got stuck in an elevator.

Dispatches from Amsterdam:

08/16/04: Initial arrival in Amsterdam, meeting Nadine and her then-boyfriend (now husband).

08/17/04: Shopping for provisions. A photo of some of the stores in the small shopping center, with apartments above.

08/23/04: A time of reflection.

8/25/04: Observations.

09/01/04: First-ever experience as a passenger on the back of a bike.

09/02/04: Visiting Geneva.

09/15/04: How did a complete stranger in the college admissions office know my name?

09/20/04: Visiting Paris.

09/26/04: I was called a “Typical American.” (I get a lot of Google hits on this post when people search for that phrase.)

10/07/04: Differences in language can cause misunderstandings.

10/10/04: Annoyed on the tram.

10/21/04: Finding a coffeeshop named after my brother.

10/31/04: Visiting London, solo.

11/18/04: Crazy hall-mates.

11/28/04: Visiting the Anne Frank Huis.

12/08/04: The different names we use to refer to things.

12/20/04: Dancing Jesus…need I say more? (You would be REALLY surprised at the amount of Google hits I get by people searching for “dancing Jesus.”)

12/23/04: Writing about what I would miss about Amsterdam once I returned to the U.S.