10 years ago as a senior at Wash U, I launched my personal blog now known as BryceCaster.com.
I started the blog because the ThurtenE Carnival (which I helped run) was written up in St. Louis Magazine as one of 101 Things Every St. Louisan Must Do. After surveying the list, I realized I had completed about 1/3 of the list and decided to write about my attempt to complete the rest before graduation (I ended up finished 97 out of the 101 items on the list). At the time I hated writing but thought having a blog could give me credibility to help land a travel industry job. Having already developed a reputation as the “travel guy” at school, I figured people might actually read it.
After graduation, the blog morphed into my travel diary as I traveled to Southeast Asia, South Asia and Africa on the three-month “Big Trip”. Since then, I have continued to document noteworthy trips in long form as well as pen travel guides and the occasional piece of advice. Besides becoming a better writer, I have gained and internalized more knowledge about the places visited through retrospection and fact-checking. I have also learned many hard lessons along the way such as how to not offend people while maintaining the integrity of a story.
BryceCaster.com has been far more successful than I had imagined. I have written 419 posts about travels to 73 countries, 11 territories, 44 US states, and all 7 continents. My blog has been viewed 109,000 times with visitors coming from 197 countries and territories.
A decade in, the blog continues to bring me so much joy and my lust for adventure remains strong as ever. I love the writing process, the ability to quickly recall otherwise forgotten details of trips and being able to share my stories and advice with friends.
Thank you to everybody who has been part of this journey. I cannot wait to see how the next decade of the blog unfolds.
-Bryce
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