Arts & Entertainment

Celebrating 13 Years of Girl About Dayton

May 19, 2024
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When I started my blog in 2011, I couldn’t know I would be celebrating 13 years of writing about Dayton at this point. I thought I’d commemorate the occasion with an old 2010s blog standard, 13 things about me:

1. I’ve lived in the Dayton area my whole life. My earliest memories are of the Riverdale neighborhood where my family lived, playing at the Mary Avenue Park, and chasing after the ice cream truck to get the Ghostbuster Slimer ice cream with red gumball eyes.

2. My workouts of choice are indoor cycling (especially at RINSE CYCLE), yoga, and Pilates.

Me at Rinse Cycle in Dayton, Ohio

3. Since starting my blog in 2011, I have written for local, national, and international publications and websites about Dayton. Actually, my intention with blog 2.0 is to pour all of the energy I used to spend on outside publications into my blog this time around. I would give myself a B+ so far on that.

4. My blog also led to my career in marketing. I didn’t realize I knew anything about marketing until my beautiful friend pointed out that I had been doing content, influencer, and social media marketing as a hobby for about 10 years at that point. Thanks, Hannah!

Me at my day job in marketing

5. I have a bachelors degree in anthropology. I specifically focused on biological anthropology. I wonder sometimes if I had continued on to a masters degree what I would be doing now. I was waitlisted at Columbia University in NYC and when I didn’t get picked, I got nervous about the recession (2009) and got a full time job instead.

6. My two black cats are Bruce and Jones. Bruce is a tuxedo kitty through and through and Jones is solid black with characteristics of Bombay cats. Both are in my life as a result of the Cat Distribution System.

my black cats staring together out a window

7. I think my MBTI personality type (ENFP) is really descriptive of me. Reading the profile after I tested felt like reading an article about myself. I absolutely love personality types – it’s really helped me know how to approach people and meet them where they are.

8. Karaoke has been a surprisingly lasting hobby my friends and I have picked up. We celebrate many of our birthdays that way.

Singing on a karaoke stage

9. From 2020-2022, I volunteered on the TEDxDayton Marketing Committee and I even served as the Marketing Chair for a year, as well.

10. Contrary to what some may imagine, I do leave Dayton quite a bit. In 2024, I’ve either already been to or will be going to: Chicago, Columbus, Cincinnati, Covington, KY, Lexington, KY, Detroit, and likely more that hasn’t been finalized yet. I don’t seem to leave the midwest, however!

Me standing next to a sign that says LEX

11. Out of all the liquors, rum has never hurt me. I’m not sure why I don’t drink more fun, tropical cocktails.

12. I don’t know how to swim.

13. I’ve been reading a lot of books lately about Dayton, cities, place, and belonging. Some of my favorites have been The Wright Brothers by David McCullough, The Dayton Anthology edited by Shannon Shelton Miller, and Imagine a City by Mark Vanhoenacker.

Learn more about me on my About page.