Onward State turns two today. If Onward State were a person, it would be capable of feeding itself. It could say small phrases. It could run. However, Onward State is not a person. If you did not know this, you are an idiot.

Onward State is a blog, one with over 3,000 posts and 5,000 comments. Over the past two years, it has grown from a three-person operation in a Simmons dorm room to a community of about 40 very hard-working writers, photographers, and editors with cross-campus reach.

In the process, we’ve garnered a few awards, received some media attention, and revolutionized modern science (OK, we haven’t done that yet. But someday!).

The blog has been visited by every state in the country. Additionally, Onward State has graced computer screens in almost every country in the world. As Chase frequently points out, it has even gotten hits from Iran and other “rogue” nations. No love from Kyrgyzstan or Vanuatu though. We’ve clearly got more work to do.

These pageviews would obviously not have been possible without you, the reader. We owe much of our success to you. Thank you. From emailing tips and @replying us to commenting on stories and letting us know when we messed up, you are the community that we’ve constantly hoped to create. We have a lot in store for the future of Onward State, and it is most certainly an exciting time. We’re glad you’re all along for the ride.

Help us celebrate the past two years and toast the many excellent ones to come this afternoon from 3:30-6pm in the basement of Irving’s at our fall Tweet-Up. If free food (read: birthday cake) isn’t enough of a draw, your favorite writers, photographers, and editors will be in attendance, so you can put names and beautiful, awesome faces together. We hope to see you there and thank you again for your support.