Girls Gone One!
Now here’s a birthday we don’t mind celebrating! It’s Girls Gone 50’s first anniversary, and we are so grateful to you for cheering us on through our first year of blogging. We hope you are having a good time hanging out with us, that you are celebrating yourselves, and feeling proud of your age and all that you bring to the party. (A fancy charcuterie platter would also be nice.)
We’ll be honest. Starting a blog in our 50s has been rewarding and draining, exhilarating and occasionally frightening but always stimulating, exciting and f-ing challenging. It makes you realize how much you have to share and how much you still have to learn. But that’s a good thing, right? Because it’s when we stop growing that we start growing old.
Having a blog is like having a baby who is always hungry, refuses to sleep, occasionally makes a big mess in its diaper (we mean this figuratively, of course), and about whom everybody feels the need to comment. But it has pushed us to open our hearts, learn patience, remain curious and active, and become more authentic, vulnerable and strong. And to us, that is what being a Girl Gone 50+ is all about.
So let’s raise a glass because one glass is about all we can handle nowadays, to the highs and lows of Girls Gone 50 Year One:
Highs
Saying what we think and sharing each others’ stories
Belonging to a vibrant, funny, kickass community
Knowing we’re not alone in our experiences
The amazing girls gone 50, 60 and 70 we’ve met online and in real life
Lows
Always having to feed the hungry beast
Falling down the social media black hole
Making mistakes publicly
Everything takes waaaay more time than you think
You still want to start a blog? Here’s GG50’s insider tips:
Before you launch your blog, start a private FB group among your friends and their friends to build your base following and test ideas.
Don’t be shy about asking your friends to share their personal stories. Many are flattered, some will do it just because they love you.
Be yourself. Make it personal even if you feel a little exposed.
Choose quality over quantity.
Be patient. Manage your expectations.
You will make mistakes and that’s just fine.
Laugh at yourself every day.
