Ahhh!!! I did it, I planned and executed my first event FOR ME! I have planned hundreds of events in the past but never one for me...one tied to my name! I put my heart, soul, tears (obviously) and a lot of time into pulling this off! This was the first of many many events (speaking it into existence) and it was a complete success, my heart is so full.
In a society full of "social media butterflies" as I'd like to call it, it is so rare for folks to venture off and do anything on their own so I am so thankful that these women trusted me and felt comfortable enough with me to join me. A majority of the women showed up solo and were prepared to walk into a room and spend the day with 29 strangers IN A BATHING SUIT AND ROBE...that says something so major about the character of these women!
This event was so personal to me and came to be because of every person that messaged me with: "I feel you girl", "preach it sister", "thank you for keeping it real", "I'm so glad I'm not alone"! I have always been an open book, I was always a talker, a sharer, an organizer of people. In HS I would never let anyone sit alone (if they didn't want to be alone, some people NEED solidarity) so if it meant bringing a chair to my table or me pulling up to her table, I wasn't okay with people feeling alone. When the freshmen joined the basketball team I made it my mission to make them feel welcomed and comfortable...it's just what I do! In those first months postpartum I was the one who felt alone in my feelings, I didn't understand what I was feeling and going through so how the hell could I expect anyone else to relate. Once I became aware of what I was feeling, I started to share my thoughts (as always) and oddly enough I got some responses that kind of made me feel like absolute shit: "you should be happy you have a baby", "a baby is life's biggest blessing", "it comes with the territory", "we all go through it you'll be fine", "a mother's job is the hardest but the most rewarding". Now I know for a fact people's intentions weren't bad but those comments hurt; I was admitting to myself and everyone yeah I'm going through it and it's scary, it hurts, and it's out of my control. But I'm thankful for the comments that hurt me because it put fire under my ass and pushed me to gather the women who said they were feeling like me in some capacity, I wanted to give us a safe place to feel our feels and know we are not alone...and I did it!
I didn't want it to be just me and my friends, I wanted this event for those women who felt they needed it so I didn't reach out to anyone directly and I wouldn't change a thing about that approach. This wasn't done for the gram so it wasn't an invite only moms with a certain following, nope I wanted it to be full of women who were their for the experience not the likes. A group of women who would lift each other, relate to one another, and not be afraid to speak their minds! I was so scared and anxious throughout the entire planning process, like wait who the hell do I think I am hosting an event. I would see other "IG Moms" with THOUSANDS AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of followers hosting events, hell I had even attended some of those events; but I thought who am I?! Since I wasn't reaching out to anyone the only way people knew about it was if they followed me on IG or read my blog, I was so afraid of being in way over my head. But on Sunday, July 14th, 2018 a group of 30 strangers met (all women, not all moms), bonded, chatted, meditated, and relaxed together. The energy was amazing and we all left full of gratitude! I've said it already but I know this event was a success not by the number of tickets sold but because the quality of those that attended and all the "thank you for putting this together, I needed it! Please do it again!!"
Planning this event really changed my life around and while I'm usually very dramatic I'm not pulling the drama card right now! I started to focus on the positive and my whole mindset began to shift and changes started taking place. I got engaged, I landed an amazing work from home opportunity, I started writing more, and more women started finding me and reaching out to me just to chat and thanking me for BEING MYSELF! It also helped me realize I had the power to remove negatives that I had control over; be it a person, an expense, etc and that has increased the positive vibes in my life and in turn my home.
You can read an event recap HERE and find out details about our meditation coach!
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Feel free to shoot me an email or comment with ideas or desires for a future event.
