a website & community for women who write & blog
I’m a girl obsessed with goals. I write yearly goals, monthly goals, and even goals for the week.
But so often these goals get lost in my litany of daily tasks. When my daily to-do lists and my lofty aspirations go head to head in battle, the to-do list wins — always.
Then I think of Octavia Butler, the black woman warrior writer who, as Kiara Collins so perfectly stated in a recent article for Blavity, “literally wrote her life into existence.”
Well, I did it. I snagged two floor seat tickets to Beyonce’s Formation Tour!
One of my best friends and I will be heading to the Nashville show come May 5!
Ever since Mrs. Carter dropped her new single “Formation” the day before the Super Bowl I have, of course, been thinking of lessons we lady bloggers and lady bosses can learn from the message of “Formation” and from the public’s reaction to the song and video.
And her song also inspired me to create a new mini e-course that I’m excited to tell you about today!
But first, here are five things I think Beyonce’s “Formation” teaches us:
What is SOL Dance Experience?
Finding the words to describe SOL Dance Experience is no easy task.
The SOL Dance Experience website simply states: “SOL Dance Experience is a LIGHTS OUT, free-form dance session for women of all fitness levels.”
And you could go to SOL Dance Experience to get in your exercise for the day. Dancing your heart out for a whole hour will certainly help you work up a sweat and burn off some calories. But to call SOL a fitness class just doesn’t seem sufficient.
You could go to SOL Dance Experience simply because you love to dance, but this isn’t the time to work on your technique or to show off your skills. You truly are in complete darkness, save the glow-in-the-dark tabs (or fireflies as the session leaders call them) that help you stay in your own area and keep you from bumping into other dancers.
The SOL mantra is “Find your light in the dark.”
Last night I went to SOL Dance Experience to celebrate my 35th birthday with a dozen members of See Jane Write. Using SOL Dance Experience as a birthday party isn’t necessarily a thing, but I certainly think it will become one after last night’s session.
I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. I was becoming one of those people who start feeling down as their birthday approaches. This was happening to me, me who looked forward to 30, me who often utters the words, “I can’t wait to turn 40!” because my friends over 40 are so fabulous and fierce.
Yet as I saw 35 in the horizon I started to feel sad, even a little scared. Is this it? I asked myself. Is this all I will ever become? Are my best years behind me?
But then my hard-won confidence and past accomplishments put an end to that pity party. I wrote myself instructions on How to Turn 35 and now I’m taking my own advice.
As I turn 35 I will laugh, I will dance, and I will dream as I did as a girl.
So today I will bring back an old tradition. I’ve created a list of 35 things I want to do while I’m 35.
But, first, I want to tell you about a deal I’m offering this month in honor of my birthday.
I am offering 35-minute consultations via Skype for only $35. If you have a specific matter regarding blogging, writing, or building a personal brand or business that you’d like to discuss with me, this is the perfect deal for you. You can purchase your session here, then email me so we can schedule our session. It’s my birthday, but I wanted to give you a gift.
Dear Javacia,
When you turn 35, you must celebrate all month long. When you turn 35, you must celebrate first with a look back. You will discover that 34 was quite the year.
Thirty-four was the year you built your labor of love—See Jane Write—into a business and learned that if you take yourself seriously as an entrepreneur, other people will, too. Your 2015 “Top 40 Under 40” award from the Birmingham Business Journal is proof.
Thirty-four was the year you and your husband bought a house, something you never thought you could do. When you were younger, you saw homeownership as something reserved for folks from wealthy families. Your family never had much money. Even though your parents worked very, very hard, they always struggled to make ends meet. They weren’t able to purchase a house and you saw your fair share of eviction notices taped to the front door. But 34 was the year you declared you would go after all those things you once believed were beyond your reach—and it worked.
Thirty-four was the year you were deemed “inspirational.” Because of your work with See Jane Write, Girls on the Run Birmingham recognized you among other local “Women Who Inspire,” such as legendary TV news anchor Brenda Ladun. At the awards ceremony, you felt like a fraud because that night you didn’t feel “inspirational,” you felt like a mess. You were in the midst of one of your most stressful times of the year, a time when you were ready to quit everything. You spent most of the evening in tears. Then several women came to you sharing how you had changed their lives simply by inspiring them to share their stories and write their truth. Thirty-four was the year you realized you could be a mess and still be inspirational…
Read this entire article at B-Metro.com.