They say it takes 30 days to form a habit.

They say that whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.

They say that the secret to writing is writing.

Einstein said that the woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd, but that the woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.

One of the things I absolutely adore about writing is that it can be an incredibly solitary yet personally fulfilling exercise. I’ve tried my best to write from my heart, in my own voice and about things that I am truly grateful for each day (some things have clearly been more serious than others), and I’m happy to report that Einstein was right. Along my quiet path of daily writing, you’ve helped me find this place that I’ve never been in before, and it’s been a lovely journey so far.

At first, thinking about writing every day for a year was daunting. Sometimes it still is. Occasionally I get home from work and want nothing more than to fall face-first into bed and sleep for 12 hours straight, but this little blog and the exhilaration that I’ve come to enjoy each time I successfully post continues to stoke the fire within. I don’t know when exactly the habit began, but I know I’m going to do my best to keep it up. After all, it’s already been 100 days. Why not 265 more?

And it’s true that the secret to writing is writing. Sometimes I have no idea what I’m going to write about when I sit down at the computer each night. Other times I’ve made an effort to think about it during the day. Some posts have skewed toward the ridiculous end of the spectrum, others have been more philosophical, others more spiritual. But all are laced with gratitude that comes from setting down a word here and a word there, and before I know it, all the words have formed a path that leads to my daily thing, event or person that I’m thankful for.

Tonight on my 100th consecutive day of writing (which means I’ve somehow managed to do it every day since I started this thing on January 2nd), I am thankful for your support, your comments — both public and private — and for the simple act of a “like” that I sometimes see the next morning when I wake.

Blogging on a daily basis for an entire year is something I set out to do for nobody else but myself — but along the way you all have made it one of the most rewarding parts of my day. The silly satisfaction that comes from clicking “publish” and the drive to write something and get it posted by midnight even when I’m in a different time zone is infectious.

And when I think back to that first day I set up my Posterous > Facebook auto-post functionality and how I was fairly nervous about putting my writing out there for you all to read — compared to today when I’m more comfortable allowing you all a tiny peek into (most of) my thoughts, my dreams and my musings — I have you all to thank for your kindness. Without it, I’d still be hesitant.

So — thanks, y’all. To 265 more. XO.