365: A Look Back

1 year.

That’s how old this blog is.

Exactly one year ago, I decided to launch OhMyHappiness in hopes of showing people in Lebanon and around the world the other side of being gay in Lebanon.

This is the third blog that I start. I gave up on the other 2 after a couple of posts. But this one keeps me inspired, for some reason.

I’ve had fun writing most posts. Some were painful to write, but the reaction has been so overwhelmingly postive, that I’m glad I wrote them. I started off fearing that some posts might end up on the browsers of the wrong people, but now I hope they do.

There have been 54 posts in one year, averaging a post a week, which was my original goal.

The most popular post, by far, has been my open letter to MTV Lebanon, that disastrous thing that calls itself a TV station of the people. While the initial response was positive, with time, the TV just waited until the brouhaha faded away, and went back to its bigotry, sexism, and hate, most notably through the horrors spewed out by Joe Maalouf.

The second most popular story of the past year was a post in which I asked a homophobic AUB student out on a coffee date. He didn’t even acknowledge my request. But the AUB staff and faculty sure did, and they released this groundbreaking statement against hate, and it got tons and tons of hits as well.

My two favorite posts were quite popular too. The first one tells the government to leave our sex lives alone. The second one honors the real heroes of the gay movement.

A post about BDS and Mashrou3 Leila got quite a reaction too, and sparked some good healthy conversation about boycotts, art, music, and bullying.

I had conversations with a doctor, a straight acting grindr guy, and a lover.

The least popular posts include a video of my trips around the world (it’s OK! I won’t take it personally), and a speech by my role model.

I wrote about some of my ex-boyfriends: the first one, and the horrible one.

I also wrote about the first gay wedding I went to, I confessed to not using condoms when I should have, and I revealed my big number.

I wrote quite a bit about sex, not enough about love. I wrote about god, or the absence of god. I wrote about skiing, independence, war, and childhood memories. I wrote about my mom and my sister.

I wrote private things, public things, happy things, angry things.

And all of this has made me a happier person, and I hope it has made some of you happier as well.

Thank you for reading. You’ve kept me excited week after week. Here’s hoping I can keep you interested for the coming year.

Love and stuff.

Raja