MILF season is all about mentorship programs
Here's how to create opportunities for aspiring leaders
Hi there,
I hope you’ve all been enjoying the summertime! I’m back on my bullshit and MILF season 2024 is all about empowering the next generation of volunteer leadership. I’ve helped organize two different mentorship programs this year, one for journalists (of all genders) via ACJR and another for new moms (across industries) for the Des Femmes community.
It’s no wonder why this was the focus of our nonprofit work this year. According to a summer 2024 survey published by the American Psychological Association, 45% of workers aged 18–25 said they feel lonely when they are working, in addition to 33% of workers aged 26–43. Especially as people turn to hybrid and remote work options, isolation is hindering careers across communities and industries. Gallup surveys yielded comparable results for the 2024 State of the Global Workplace report, with 25% of remote workers across demographics saying they experienced “a lot of loneliness” in their careers. With that in mind, I’m happy to say that both ACJR and Des Femmes mentorship programs are currently full. Participants are already giving positive feedback.
If you know of a company that would like to sponsor a mentorship program in 2025, or if your company would like an internal mentorship program to support employee growth, feel free to reach out!
You may recall that I was pondering how to continue writing, now that my day job involves mostly management and editing (more fun updates on editing projects coming soon), without contradicting my household’s financial goals. After months of deliberation, I’ve decided to try writing my own research projects in 2025, with the support of a university, while giving myself unbridled permission to pivot. So far, that’s been the most important part of continuing my growth as a writer and a mother with a middle class background. Hurdles be damned, I’m a big believer in striving to “brighten the corner where you are,” in the words of the late poet Helen Steiner Rice.
While I’m grateful for the opportunities that came from developing bitcoin expertise, I’m not among the nouveau crypto rich who can live comfortably without fresh income. There were a lot of people involved with the Des Femmes community who wanted me to turn that project into a venture-backed startup. I explored that idea for a while. But, in the end, it conflicted with my goals of eventually taking a maternity leave in 2024 and keeping the project true to our original values, rather than catering to sponsors and investors who might not align with our ethics. It can take many years of fundraising before companies become profitable. While I have immense respect for similar communities taking a for-profit approach, I know from the founders exactly how they are managing, and the answer is (as it often is): At great cost.
Even with university support, the research projects I aspire to complete in 2025 will also come at great cost (I’m not alone when it comes to working moms who scale back on writing in order to focus on financial security while their kids are dependent). Plus, any extracurricular projects I work on now detract from my childcare hours, which cost time and money as well. Full confession, sometimes I’m embarrassed by the quality of the poetry and fiction I’ve shared with y’all. Some of it was written in stolen minutes, late nights and early mornings, while juggling multiple jobs. I see flaws, and wish I spent more time revising some pieces. So, I remind myself that writing is never finished, only abandoned, at least while I’m still exchanging labor hours for capital. At a certain point, you decide if it moves you closer to your goals (and publish) or should be thrown away. Then you move on to the next step.
Before I became a mom, my general approach was to commit to finishing projects with the resources I had, because it’s better to try, and fall short of a grand vision, than to regret never trying at all.
Now, as a parent, I need to constantly ask myself, am I robbing my son of the resources he needs? That includes my time and energy.
I’m going to start writing and researching, knowing this is not about profit, then check in with myself to constantly gauge whether the cost is something I can accept. There’s a season in life to prove to yourself that you’re not a quitter, and a season for affirming your family values with actions. I’m excited to continue growing as a person and as a writer, while also enjoying motherhood. I would rather not let one identity consume me entirely.
For me, this year has been all about embracing the power of intentional pivoting. My birth plan was vastly different from what ended up happening, but I still found joy in that experience. Going back to work was tricky, with my health suffering for longer than I had planned for and my original childcare plan needing immediate revision. Literally within the first 48 hours of going back to work I had to change strategies! Now, with my work schedule normalizing, I find that my family’s needs vary depending on our health, and other factors outside of my control. I’m constantly pivoting, finding accomplishment in the unique challenge of dynamic optimization based on changing circumstances.
Although you probably aren’t dealing with exactly the same tradeoffs, here is a journal prompt that I highly recommend reflecting on as we go into the last quarter of 2024:
Take a look at your credit card bills for 2024. What are some of the ways you spend money that don’t align with your values? What are some purchases you made that do align with your values and goals?
That’s it for now. I’ll follow up with some more insights into my editing and research projects this winter. Feel free to comment or email me if you have any questions you’d like me to answer in the next newsletter. I always love hearing from you guys.
Until next time, take care, everybody!