August 23, 2015

This-Is-My-Official-Goodbye

I’ve already written the post I’m going to publish tomorrow, when it’s one day until I turn thirty.

Aside from today’s post, there’s only one more post I have to write (the day of my actual birthday).

So really, this seems like the last post I’m going to be writing in this 30 days to 30 series. And because I’m starting a new site in the next couple weeks, it really feels like this is the last post I’m going to write for this blog, and that sort of makes me want to cry.

After my final post on August 26th, this blog will no longer be active. I’m not going to actively be publishing anything more on this blog, because all of my time and energy will be focused on the new site, and creating products I know you guys are going to love.

Even though you’re coming with me, it still feels like I’m leaving something behind. This blog has been everything I’ve ever cared about side-hustle-wise for the past four years. It’s made me realize that I can do something else with my life besides just writing articles. It’s been my solace for the days when I couldn’t bare to look at a single thing without crying. It’s been one of my best friends. It’s been a true honor to have shared these last 4 years with you guys, thank you so much for following along with me!

Along the way I’ve met so many people, and it’s offered me so many opportunities for growth. I spoke at a blog panel, I participated in link-ups and Facebook groups, I made great digital pen pals, and I’ve read some really terrific blogs. I even made business cards!

This blog was the cure to any and all loneliness I experienced in my mid to late twenties. It’s what took me from “what the hell am I doing with my life” to “look at all this cool stuff I can do!” For the past four years, I let it all hang out here on the blog, from the time I was pursuing business school and running half-marathons, to the time when I was trying to grow it into something that people could turn to, to feel better about their lives.

I published over 350 posts, many of which are now unpublished because I’m using them on my new site, but most of which are still here. I could have written a book by now if I’d written as much over the past four years in a novel! To think about that is pretty trippy too.

So this is my goodbye post. The next couple of posts will focus on transition, but this one is the goodbye blog post. Goodbye, A Novel Quest! My precious little passion project. I’ve decided I’m keeping everything here as it is, by the way. Most of the posts will still be here, if you ever feel like you want to re-read any of this stuff for inspiration on a cloudy day. I was briefly considering getting rid of the domain, but I just can’t. So it’s sticking around.

I think this blog will always be my little trip down memory lane, years from now when I’ve completely forgotten about the backlog of posts published here. If I ever want to visit any moment in my life from 26-30, this will be the place to do it. This will be the museum of Monique, for the latter half of her twenties. Maybe my kids will read it. Maybe I’ll be dead and people will still find it interesting. Of course, it wouldn’t be around for too long if I was dead, someone’s gotta pay the hosting fees, amirite!

But it’s nice to know there’s a little time capsule here of Monique Muro when she was young. Here lies the things she experienced and here lies the things she’s done. I think it’s a pleasant little quest to look back on, maybe it’ll be good fodder for fiction when I finally get around to that. Maybe I’ll come back and turn the entire digital thing into a print book to carry around with me on days when I feel like I’ve never done anything. (That’s actually a pretty cool idea).

Whatever this little blog becomes, it will remain here and it will remain precious. It will forever remain the starting point of whatever career and/or projects I pursue the rest of my life. A Novel Quest was this girl’s catalyst for something great.

Monique Muro

Monique is an exceedingly happy human from LA. She runs the blog A Novel Quest, and writes. A lot.

Latest posts by Monique Muro (see all)

  • http://melissa-field.com/ Melissa Field

    I can’t believe how fast that went! I really enjoyed this 30 day series and going on this journey with you. The 20’s really are an interesting time of chaos and confusion, and then at the end, you realize something beautiful came out of it, so long as you kept going, one step at a time.

    • http://anovelquest.com Monique Muro

      Yay I’m so glad you enjoyed it! It’s so tough taking a risk and putting something out there like that, but I’m really glad it happened. And you said it perfectly, it was definitely a decade of chaos and confusion, so much so that it was beautiful looking back on it :)