When I first interviewed with The Baltimore Banner almost three years ago, I told my soon-to-be editors that my dream was to write the story of my native city and its people in a way that only someone who knew and loved it could. I also promised to weigh in on the news and pop culture of the day from a Baltimorean lens.

In 2024, I did this, expounding on everything from the charming name of the mayor’s newborn, to the disappointing way the media covers Vice President Kamala Harris, to what happens when your cousin runs for the U.S. Senate from Maryland.

While those stories were well-received, I could not have predicted that the columns that resonated with people most would be about such random topics. Stuff like adopting a 22-pound middle-aged cat, why I thought the British royal family played the public absence of the Princess of Wales wrong or, most improbably, my critique of an Olympic kangaroo-hopping breakdancer from Australia. I’m not sure if my musings caught on because I approached them from a fresh perspective or because I just caught a weird zeitgeist-y wave and rode it. Whatever the draw, it’s always rewarding to know you’ve created a conversation, even if sometimes it’s a loud, angry one.

Like my take on Rachael “Raygun” Gunn, that Aussie dancer whose performance at the Paris Olympics was met with confusion, scorn, jeers and even some cheers. I found her dancing disrespectful because it was so removed from anything having to do with the roots of the artform, and seemed more performance art than a real routine.

To say that the response was overwhelming was an understatement. I got emails literally from around the world, some in agreement with the weirdness of it all, others telling me to lighten up, and one initially negative message about how I’d misunderstood the entire breaking community that turned into a lovely exchange about culture. I’m not shocked that the Raygun conversation is ongoing. I’m just still shocked to have been a part of it.

And then there’s Cass. In September, I introduced Banner readers to the curvaceous calico cat my son and I adopted from the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter. We set out to bring home a young, lithe mouser that could help with our critter problem but fell in love with the uncompromising visage of an 8-year-old lady that we knew we wanted to join our family. The most lovely letters I got were an affirmation of the importance of caring for our furry and feathered community members by giving homes to as many lovable animals as possible — mostly because they came with adorable pet photos. We want more of those.

Baltimore Banner Editor-in-Chief Kimi Yoshino once told me I have a gift for finding the Baltimore angle in almost every topic. For my March column on the notable monthslong public absence of Catherine, Princess of Wales — who eventually disclosed she was undergoing treatment for cancer — I made a tie to fictional Baltimore native Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) in the movie “Clear and Present Danger.” While Ryan’s advice on avoiding scandal was to lean into it, the British royal family seemed to be running away from whatever was going on. Photoshopped family portraits. A questionable video of Kate walking real fast at a farmers market. The inevitable attempt to somehow blame this all on Meghan Markle, who wasn’t even in the country.

I figured the column was going to get attention because it was all anyone was talking about, but not such an international response, including some nutty conspiracy theories and a few admonishments to stay out of the U.K.’s business. (When they stay out of the business of a woman who doesn’t live there anymore, I might. Maybe. Likely not.)

My other two most surprising hits were a little closer to home. I spent about a week transported back to the frosted tip, feathered hair days of 1985, celebrating the release of actor Andrew McCarthy’s “Brats,” a documentary about having been part of the Brat Pack. It was a column four decades in the making, dating back to the University of Maryland-set filming of “St. Elmo’s Fire.” I’d been obsessed with it since my teens, and when I reached out online to anyone who may have been in and around campus during filming, the responses were full of nostalgia, affection and stories of how hot Rob Lowe was up close.

Maybe my most unexpectedly popular story was an interview with L.A.-based author Emily Barth Isler, who is well-known in middle-grade fiction circles. Her name, however, is famous in Maryland because she shares part of it with her father, veteran WMAR-TV newscaster Andy Barth. Her memories of growing up admiring him and his work stayed near the top of our most-read stories for more than a week, I think largely because Baltimoreans are dedicated to our local trusted legends. In that way, it’s perhaps the most Baltimore story ever because it proves the reach of the city. We’re everywhere, making your lives better and more interesting, even when you don’t know it.

I hope the same can be said for me, too. Thanks for reading. Can’t wait to find more weird, wonderful subjects to bring to life in 2025.