There are so many things we could say about this doozy of a year, 2017. But right now, I’m just going to go with the one thing I’m an authority on:

2017, for all its complicit covfefe, did  produce some brilliant blogs!

And I’m not just talking alllllll about myself (for once. #bloggercliche. That’ll come tomorrow!) I’m talking about the amazing blogs I read in 2017. Say what you will about the state of the “blogosphere”, there is still incredibly creative content being produced every single day. I’m so grateful to be a part of it. Story telling and humanity go hand and hand, and blogging makes them more accessible than a celebrity #RelationshipGoals Instagram.

I’m always looking for new blogs to read, maybe you are too. Plus it’s nice to tell my cliché millennial mantra of SELF PROMOTION, SELF PROMOTION to STFU and celebrate other people’s hard work!

Bloggers published some amazing things in 2017. Here are a few of my favorites♥

Blogs that were New York from a Visitor Perspective: Sometimes seeing the city through fresh eyes is a quick reminder of how spectacular NYC is. These blogs do just that.

♥ A New York City Christmas from Striped Pineapple “New York City is a bit of a difficult place for me to write about. It managed to get its clutches in me when I first went years ago, and every time I go back I love it just a little more. It’s a mad, swirling mess of humanity packed into too small of a space, but somehow, that’s part of its magic.”

♥ The Honeymoon: NYC 2017 from Suzie Speaks “It was a lot more clean than I expected it to be and I felt safe (although it probably helped that I had a 6’3″ man walking next to me). I was warned in advance that New Yorkers are quite abrupt and rude in their interactions, but I found that most people just kept to themselves.”

Blogs that covered NYC events I had to miss, but could happily live vicariously through.

♥ An Affair to Remember – Diner En Blanc 2017 from Nikki Takes New York “Every year, 5,000 New Yorkers gather in various meeting locations throughout the Big Apple anxiously awaiting the reveal of a secret location for the fanciest picnic of all – Diner En Blanc.”

♥ Nothing’s Gonna Change My World from Meghan Sara “It’s December 9th, and you know what that means. It means that yesterday, I spent NINE AND A HALF HOURS in the cold singing Beatles songs with tourists and fellow fanatics alike.”

♥ To Infinity and Beyond: Yayoi Kusama’s Festival of Life at David Zwirner Gallery in New York City from Madhatters NYC “Why on earth would a nocturnal creature such as myself wake up at an uncivilized hour on a frigidly cold Saturday morning in November just to stand on line for nearly two hours–and not just any line but a discouragingly gargantuan queue that appeared to stretch into infinity?”

Blogs that offered Great advice/food for thought – these 2 Including ways to conquer two of my greatest fears:
1. Looking like a tourist
2. People not liking my authentic self

♥ Don’t Be a Tourist: 15 Secrets To Traveling Like A Local from Single Strides “Wouldn’t it be nice to have the type of vacation where you actually experience a place instead of just checking off tourist attractions?”

♥ BEING AUTHENTIC from Charlotte Steggz “It’s all very well me trying to be a better person. But I must also be true to myself.”

Dating blogs that know how to tell a good story and are oh so relatable

♥ The Guys You Date After A Breakup from Girl in Gotham City “There’s the guy who invites you out for drinks in midtown on a Friday night. You normally hate midtown but you know the bar and the drinks are good so you agree. He talks fast and talks a lot and talks mostly about himself. You can never really answer any of his questions before you get cut off.”

♥ 10 Similarities Between Dating and Apartment Hunting in New York from She Made the Move “We’re all searching for our light-filled, West Village apartment, with outdoor space and a dishwasher. Just like we’re waiting for our six foot Adonis, who’ll cook us pasta before going down on us, and then stroke our hair as we fall asleep.”

♥ The Married Man, Part 1 – Background from Lucy Goes Dating “Immediately her eyes flick to Michael’s left hand to check for the inevitable ring.  And as predictably as a fuckboy on Tinder asking for a hookup, there it is. She feels her stomach plummet into her heels with disappointment. FML, she thinks. When am I ever going to catch a break?”

Blogs with stories that made me think this would SO happen to me – the moments of NYC horror in these stories are perfectly contrasted with NYC love

♥ My Journey Home from Allison Arnone “My mother jokes that this stuff “only happens to me,” but I don’t know.  I think I follow it (quite literally).  I look for it.  I NEED IT.  Life is crazy and sometimes we all need a break from the chaos and the rat race.  We need to SMILE at a young kid covering Journey songs in a train station, goddamnit.”

♥ Some Days from Tip and Jam in Wonderland
“‘Have you been to Governor’s Island?’
‘No, not yet but we plan to.’
‘You really need to go. It’s beautiful.’
So we went.  And it was beautiful.  Little did I know that Murphy, with his law, was standing behind one of the giant London Plane trees on the island just waiting to pounce on me.”

Lawwwd knows this list just touches the an Empire State Building sized iceberg. What are some of your favorite posts that you read or wrote this year? Please, please share in the comments!