At the beginning of 2013, I was caught in the undertow of economic loss. The housing crisis pulled me from a full-time, sustaining consulting career into a part-time temp role barely above minimum wage and I felt myself mentally and financially imploding.
I reached for social media as a lifeline, asking it to see my loss. I started a GoFundMe, and the results were both sobering and instructive. In hindsight, I learned that desperation rarely invites support. I learned, too, that my instinct for survival and independence is formidable. Generosity cannot be coerced. What arrived money, gifts, kindness came from people who chose to give, and I received those offerings with humble gratitude.
I can laugh now at one detail: my GoFundMe included a glamorous headshot. If I was pleading poverty, why did the photo look so well-off? In that moment, I sabotaged my own message. Lesson learned.
Throughout 2013, I wrote my way through questions and quiet discoveries. Blogger became a space to process bliss, agony, curiosity, and growth. By December, 33 posts had garnered thousands of views. Publishing on Yahoo’s Contributor Network helped me tune my voice authority, authenticity, and tone. “I Am 60 Years Well, Almost” captured my spirit then: life throws lemons, so I make lemonade; growing older is an adventure; and gratitude keeps me open to opportunities, even when they first appear as disappointments.
My social circles expanded. On Google+, I reached the platform’s 5,000-circle threshold and found new niches to explore. YouTube added a creative lane videos, photo stories, and little experiments that widened my field.
