Today marks the 1-year birthday of I Am Notre Dame!
Last Thanksgiving, we went live. A few posts appeared on three linked websites, with the promise that more stories of the Notre Dame family would appear soon. Since then, it's been an unforeseen but incredible ride: one year, 3,000+ likes, 300+ interviews, and still going strong. A sincere thank you goes out to those who made all this possible: those who supported the blog from its first steps, those who have just joined us, and those who have generously shared their time and stories in each post.
The more people I speak with, the more I realize I can never adequately capture their stories in a short blog post. But my hope is that you will seek these stories out yourself; this blog is just a stepping stone. No individual can be encapsulated in three paragraphs and a quick picture, and as soon as you realize this, your world view will begin to shift. People walking on campus are no longer "people"; they're individuals, each with hundreds of compelling stories to share. 
If you take something away from a year of this blog's existence, let it be this: Empathize with others. Listen when they speak. Share in their heartbreak and their triumphs. After you look down at your screen to read an interview, look up at the world to interact with these family members and their stories.
The Notre Dame family is expansive, multifaceted, complicated, compelling, beautiful. Let this blog be the beginning of a deepened lifelong relationship with these stories and the individuals who share them.