Hi friends!
I’m not one for making hiatus announcements as those feel like goodbyes for me. I’ve been blogging for so long that it’s honestly become a safe space of sorts for me in addition to being a digital journal and scrapbook of memories — I’m not ready to say goodbye to that just yet.
So instead, I opt for posting less than usual and popping in at least 1-3 months with proof of life when things get too much for me, and I end up putting blogging on the back burner. It might not work for everyone, but it works for me, and really, that’s all that matters.
Frankly, this might be my first “hiatus” announcement ever — is it really a hiatus, though? — but I think this very much warrants an announcement for transparency.
Regular readers will know exactly why as I’ve been talking about it for the past few months, but for those not so regular or popping by for the first time:
I’ve decided to go through with a rebrand!
I think it’s been a long time coming as I go through a phase of wanting to do it but then opt not to for various reasons: not the right time, didn’t come up with the perfect name, too much work, etc. It’s a thing I’ve debated about every few years for a good part of the past decade, but thought about more extensively in the past two years — I think that’s a sign that while I haven’t grown away from my blogging chapter, I’m certainly growing from within this chapter.
Kind of fitting, since this blog will be a teen this November. Nothing like going through a glow-up and evolution in the teen years. 🤪
I know some people aren’t going to be thrilled about the rebrand, so they may opt to unfollow, and that’s absolutely valid.
In the meantime, I’ll be radio silent here on the blog so I can work on updating things on the staging site. I’ll be shutting down comments on posts completely two weeks from now (usually I close them after a year of the post going live) so I can transfer the site over to the staging environment and not have to worry about transferring them over later. And I’ll also be turning off the like button since any new ones after I start working on the new site wouldn’t be transferring over.
But I’m excited to be starting a new blogging chapter — and I hope you’ll stick around! Thanks for continuing to visit my little corner over the years. I’ll see you all in November!
What’s changing?
The name, the logo and the blog theme. The color palette will remain the same — this purple very much speaks to me, and I’ve never felt the desire to change it despite changing some of the secondary colors over the years.
Additionally, I will no longer be blogging under Sophia and will use my actual first name, which has been listed on my socials for a long while. I’ve also talked about this a little in my post about pen names!
So do I still call you Sophia, or do you prefer Hannah?
I fully acknowledge this is going to be a major change and will take some time to get used to (I’m going to need to get used to it in an online space now), so if you call me Sophia, I’m not going to name and shame you. But I’d prefer Hannah.
Why the change now?
I’ve been debating a name change for the past decade because I hated how I’d have to spell out the blog name every time I talked about it in regard to my portfolio. None of the names I thought about felt right, so I left it as it is and slowly appreciated the blog name over the years.
I didn’t think extensively about it again until recent years, and that was when I started making a Google Doc listing all the reasons I should or shouldn’t rebrand. I’ve been blogging for so many years now, and while I appreciate the name and have a great fondness for it, I also think I’ve grown out of it and am instead holding myself as a blogger back now.
What about your content? Will that change?
Most of my posts will still be about books, and I don’t plan on changing that. The annual Blogging Stats Transparency post will still continue to happen, and occasionally, I’ll still talk about other things that interest me like stationery and journaling, video games, Asian dramas, etc.
It all comes down to how I’m feeling about talking about it — if I want to talk about it! I don’t want to pressure myself with blogging, and I don’t intend on changing that.
When will the rebrand happen?
As of this post going live, I’ll be on hiatus so I can work on the new look, fix all the current featured images, and get it ready for my web host to transfer it to the new domain. My current goal is to resume posting on November 2, 2025; however, it can take longer if things go awry or something doesn’t go according to plan.
I’m commissioning an artist for the new header this time (it’s currently in progress), so there are third parties to consider — artists have lives, too!
Likely, the new domain will be live by late October, and my current domain will redirect to the new one (and will continue to do so until 2028 at the very least). Social media handles and MSN will be updated shortly after.
I like the old name, and I don’t like the thought of you rebranding. I think it’s fine the way it is.
Your opinions and feelings are valid! But so are my thoughts and feelings, and I think my feelings take priority when it comes to my blog. I hope you understand!
I promise I’m not rebranding willy-nilly, and I’ve thought extensively about this. Just ask Clo and Izzy, two of the unfortunate people who have heard of my blog identity (and existential) crisis the most.
(And I understand if you choose to unfollow me because of the rebrand. I hope you don’t, though.)
Sophia started blogging in February 2012 for the hell of it and is surprisingly still around. She has a GIF for nearly everything, probably listens to too much K-Pop and is generally in an existential crisis of sorts (she's trying her best). More of her bookish reviews and K-Pop Roundups can be found at The Arts STL.
If you enjoy her posts or found them helpful, consider tipping on KoFi!
For the last time, then – GOOD MORNING SOPHIA 😉 (or, well, GOODBYE SOPHIA!)…HELLO HANNAH!
Looking forward to the novelties – I hope the transition goes smoothly!