About
Me
My name is Ashley Riordan. I’m a grad student living in Southern California. I’m originally from Washington state, and maybe I’ll make it back there some day, but I like the idea of spending a few years living in every major city first.
Writing is my thing and always has been, but in college I took one required course on theology, and then that became my thing instead. I ended up on the academic track, which I will look back and tell you was inevitable, but I was the last to figure it out. I’m currently working on a PhD in theology. I want to teach undergrads and disrupt their lives in the same amazing way that theology disrupted my life.
Starting this blog was like saying, “No, but I still really love writing too.” Blogging is about a lot more than writing, though, and I think that those of us who stick with it realize this early on. Over the last several years, blogging has changed my life. I’ve made some of my best friends, gone on amazing trips, and shared more of myself with more people than ever before.
I dream of being a novelist and personal essayist. I finished my first novel in the Summer of 2008 and I am currently writing a second. I’m working on making writing a career instead of something I do for free all over the internet, but I could never give up blogging. More about this on the Writing page.
I have done some fun things on the internet with some great people. You can read about all that on the Projects page.
If you are just meeting me, let me catch you up on what the rest of the internet already knows: I love nail polish, Blue Moon, and David Gray. I hate ellipses and owls. I am sometimes referred to as Captain and other times as Doctor. As of yet, I am neither.
The Blog
I started this blog in May 2008 under a different name. It became Writing to Reach You in September 2008. To make up for a lack of originality, I name most things after songs. “Writing to Reach You” is one of my favorite songs by the Scottish band Travis. For the first three years, I blogged semi-anonymously, which means that most people who read this blog didn’t know my last name and most people who knew my last name didn’t know about this blog. All that changed in June 2011. I closed the comments on this blog in late 2012, but you can still reach me by email or catch me on twitter.
Other Sites
Ashley Riordan | Totes The Best | A Story of Debt | Totes Awesome Channel | We Blog, We Vlog