Birthday Reflections

December is always a month of mixed emotions, mainly due to my birthday on December 3rd, coupled with the stress of the holidays and the looming new year.

This year was no exception.

My Dutch mother instilled the Dutch birthday traditions in me from a young age - the Dutch know how to "do" birthdays right! They make a big deal out of birthdays, from cake (lots of cake) to streamers, balloons and birthday cards. This sense of celebration has always carried with me - I believe that birthdays should be a celebration of life, as not everyone has the privilege of making it to their next birthday.

The fact that the biggest day of global giving - Giving Tuesday - fell on my birthday this year was a lovely coincidence. Community impact means a lot to me and Giving Tuesday Barbados is true passion project. Most of you just see the cute radio interviews, the fun graphics, the social media posts.

This is the fun stuff that I hope will inspire people to join this movement.

On the flip side, I deal with failures, frustrations and disappointments more often than successes. Nobody really sees the countless hours of work that goes into all of this. I’m told no way more often than I am told yes.

Support

Through all of that, it's the support and positive reinforcement that I get that helps me power through it.

On that note, I know it's a busy time of year, but please take the time to a friend or family member with their small businesses/Charity; this is the stuff that matters most.

• Sharing a link to their business/orgs, telling people about it, offering to lend a hand, and just taking that minute to give them some support, really makes a difference.

• SHOW UP for them - Not just in December, but all year round.

Even though I feel disappointed with the lack of support I personally received for Giving Tuesday Barbados this year, I’m super grateful for the doers, the early adopters and the unicorns who work tirelessly in the Third Sector in Barbados, in the Caribbean and across the world. It's HARD WORK and I see you!

I’m using this as an opportunity to find room for growth, capacity for strength, and space for transition. As I start a new trip around the sun, no matter the conflicting feelings, I'm making some space for reflection and gratitude.

Gratitude is a must.

Blogging + Social Media

On that note, I also took some time to think about my relationship with social media, which is always in flux.

I love social media, and in the same breath, I hate it.

Over the years, social media has naturally become an extension of my blog, as I've been able to extend my 'community' beyond this blog and on to Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. That said though, I find myself succumbing to the pressure of social media more than I care to admit, and I often post for the sake of it, to keep the algorithms happy (Especially on Instagram). This leaves me feeling a bit empty, especially when I have to reduce my thoughts and opinions to bite sized captions. It doesn't leave enough room for clarification, debate or context.

This blog has been a part of my life for 10 years now, and I haven't given it the attention I believe it deserves in recent years. I've tried to post here and there, while also working behind the scenes to transfer over from blogger to Wordpress, but I can't say that I'm proud of the state that my blog is in.

I have over 10 years of content that needs to be formatted for this new space. I just haven't made the time for it this year, and I regret that.

Digital Detox

Though I recognise the potential that lies in using social media to further grow this platform, I'm taking a step back. I hate to use the term "digital detox" but that's partially what it is. I've disabled my Instagram, Twitter and Facebook profiles to give myself some space and time to reflect on how I want to integrate these platforms into my life, and by extension my blog, moving forward.

As I set intentions and goals for the new decade, I'm reminding myself why I started this blog in the first place - to have fun, to write and to connect with others. I need to find out how I come back to the essence of that 10 years later.

Until then, you can always find me on here, or shoot me an email.