This year’s APSA felt special to me. First, it brought back memories of APSA 2018 in Boston—my first conference experience, when I was a master’s student wandering from session to session. Second, it was lovely to take friends to some of my hidden-gem coffee shops in Boston and catch up with them. Third, I felt privileged (and a little stressed) to present my paper to the PolMeth community alongside scholars I have long admired. For years, I had engaged with their work through printed papers spread across my desk; this time, I was sitting next to them. A special thank-you to Arthur Spirling for his generous and constructive comments, and to the Political Methodology section chairs for putting together the program at APSA2026.