The transition into Spring comes with lovely reminders of how growth and transformation can come only after some level of stillness and shedding. In our contemporary capitalist culture, we're rarely encouraged to be still. And especially for entrepreneurial women like so many in our network, it can seem impossible to allow ourselves to really rest.

BlackFemaleProject understands the immense value in telling our stories, and honors the unique power that comes from the profound experience of being a Black woman. Our work is equally grounded in the resonance of shared experience and the expansive potential of bringing together women with diverse journeys and perspectives. By listening to and learning from one another, we're able to reflect and refine our own roadmaps.

At BlackFemaleProject, we feel honored to carry on the legacy of community care passed down to us by our ancestors. In February, as we see and hear more presence to the powerful lineage and history of Black people in America, we welcome Black History Month as we do every month: by listening, learning, and celebrating the vastness of our collective and individual experiences. The legacy of service we inherited is evident in the everyday commitment of Black educators.

Our offering to you at the top of 2023 is our 2nd annual wellness calendar.

As we welcome the opportunity for fresh beginnings that the new year offers, we also honor the reality that our journeys continue on from year to year. While you reflect on years past, set intentions for your next chapter, and presence yourself in your everyday life, BlackFemaleProject is here in support of your wellness.

When you create the space to imagine beyond the day-to-day grind and the need to simply keep up, what possibilities can you dream up for your life? What world do you want for yourself, your family, and your communities?

While it seems like second nature to charge our cell phones, water our plants, and feed our families, we're not always so quick to prioritize taking care of our own basic needs. Self-care is radical.

We embrace the interconnectedness of all of us—the fact that our individual wellness contributes to the well-being of the collective society.

Sharing our stories helps us to acknowledge and process our own experiences; be seen and heard by others; and contextualize the barriers and challenges we face as patterns that are not personal to us.

For many of us, August brings the reminder that time passes quickly, as summer seems to be coming to a close just as it was getting started. By this point, more of the year is behind us, so to speak, than ahead of us, and we're presented with a natural opportunity to revisit our established intentions and consider how we want to head into the coming year.

We believe that there's a direct link between collective liberation and our ability to experience feelings of personal freedom. Self-reflection, self-discovery, and understanding historical context all help us along in our pursuit of freedom.

When we understand what's wounded us, we can begin to heal the wounds. When we understand what brings us joy, we can prioritize welcoming more of those things in our lives.

While some amount of stress at work might be unavoidable, extreme and ongoing stress is unhealthy and a sign that it's time to make some changes.

Whatever your current work situation looks like—remote work, in-person, hybrid, between jobs, or in search of your next passion—the importance of balancing professional commitments with personal well being is ever-present.

We know that committing to our own growth requires a lot of us: self-awareness, humility, and the courage to face our fears and traumas.

While love is undeniably a part of our lives every day, we happily seize the opportunity to focus more intentionally on love during the lover's month.

Welcome to January! Let's set the tone for 2022 with a reminder to tend to our most vital assets: ourselves!