Celebrate Dramabeans’ 10th anniversary with us!

by javabeans

Happy new year everybody! This year is special for us not only because we get to kick 2016 away (although it was admittedly a pretty solid year for dramas) and welcome in a fresh, unspoiled one, but also because it marks Dramabeans’ tenth anniversary.

This site started as a tiny side project in January 2007, and that means we just completed our tenth year and are now heading into Year Eleven. That number still doesn’t seem quite real to me, and I can’t quite grasp that we’ve been at it for so long (and through so many dramas)—but, if good for nothing else, the white hairs on my head are testament to how much time really has passed.

I never imagined when Dramabeans began that it would turn into a full-time job, or that it would grow to this size, or that I’d meet and make such connections with people I consider lifetime friends. It’s now officially been the longest job either I or girlfriday have held, which is a bit daunting to think about but is also something we’re intensely grateful for. We love this work, and although it often exhausts us—we aren’t as young as we once were!—we still find the energy somehow to carry on, because it’s so worth it. (And, it’s ruined us for proper jobs elsewhere, if we’re being honest!)

I’ve always said that I had no idea how long I intended to run Dramabeans, but that’s not because I had one foot out the door, but more that it would have been too daunting to commit for so much time up front, feeling locked in by a promise rather than being led by something more powerful—the joy that dramas bring us, and that fierce need of the fan’s heart to share that with other fans. And I firmly believe it’s that open-ended view that has kept us open and going strong, because while we know that we can walk away whenever that love dies, that’s a freeing thought more than anything, because we also know that we’ll probably love dramas forever in some capacity.

To celebrate our tenth birthday, we’ve got some fun things planned in the month(s) ahead, so keep your eyes peeled! We’ve got our eyes on a new look for the site, and we’re also planning a celebratory party—one that we’d like to open up to all of you to attend, to meet other Beanies and hang with the Dramabeans staff. Because what’s the fun in aging if you don’t get to party?

To attend, please RSVP to hello@dramabeans.com, providing your name and number of attendees.

The venue has a capacity limit, so we’ll be taking RSVPs to reserve spots and will confirm via email. (If we run out of slots, we’ll start a waiting list, so if you have to bow out at a later date, please let us know so we can open it up for others.)

Thank you all for an eventful and rewarding ten years—you guys make this place the best job to turn to every day. We hope to see you there!