FIRST THOUGHT: 5-year Plan
Stop what you’re doing and enter a flashback: What were you up to five years ago? The year was 2014. Every kid was singing “Let It Go;” Kim K married Kanye W; Barack Obama still sat in the White House. Man, things are different now, right? From relationships to cities to careers, we forget that our lives change so rapidly.
I propose something that would cause my college career counselor to sneer: Ditch your five-year plan. Instead, use that time to identify the aspects of your life that are freakin’ rockin’ right now. Those are qualities to identify and then seek out over the course of the next five years. We can’t predict the future, but we can do something about today, well, today.
WOMEN IN NUMBERS: 8 in 10
When I asked a pregnant friend of mine how she was feeling, she responded, “full of baby.” It’s her second pregnancy, but she - like mothers who came before her - seems to have forgotten what it’s like to carry a person inside her. With a toddler at home, girlfriend is tired. It’s no surprise that 8 out of 10 millennial women who are moms to kids aged six or younger say parenting is exhausting. (What I want to know is who these other two in 10 moms think they’re kidding).
WOMAN TO WATCH: April Daniels Hussar, Managing Editor at Romper
When I attended the 2019 Mom 2.0 Summit here in Austin, I sat down with the managing editor at a little website you might have heard of, called Romper. For the first time ever, Romper acted as the national media partner of the Mom 2.0 Summit.
Romper is the brain child of Bustle Digital Group, a media conglomerate that hasn’t stopped since it launched in 2013. As a female-focused digital company, Bustle has a huge audience - and editor April Hussar is a piece of this influential, online pie.
April made me laugh and smile and consider the elusive balance between mother and professional. She’s the kind of woman who leaves her ego at the door and listens as often as she speaks. Her considerate and astute nature lends itself to such a significant, detail-oriented role.
April has built a reputation of being an in-the-know working mother. She studied theater in college before launching her career as a freelance writer and editor, working with companies like Self, Café Media and Condé Nast, just to name a few. It wasn’t long before she earned the role of editorial director at one of the top websites for women, called Betty Confidential.
Part of being a badass boss lady means developing strategic partnerships and creating content that, simply put, lots of people want to read. Now that we’re in an age where clicks, engagements and ROI are a top priority, media has evolved. In many ways, April says, it’s for the better.
Romper’s aim is to foster a space for millennial moms, and y’all, moms are pretty multifaceted. We need to know what Chrissy Tiegen thinks about, well, just about anything, and we also want to be informed about the maternal health crisis. It’s no easy feat to be the voice of a generation that’s defined by its preference to be undefined, but Romper is great at doing just that.
April and her team are focused on providing readers with what they want, and what they want isn’t fear mongering, contentious, pervasive content. For one of Romper’s issues this year, April wrote a captivating editorial letter in which she describes her own exhilarating journey to the delivery room. April writes that when she saw her daughter’s face, her worries and to-do list took a backseat.
There’s a lot to life, and for some, being a mama is part of it. Thanks to women like April and sites like Romper, millennial moms have a place to go for help.
QUITE THE QUOTE
Entrepreneur Catherine Cook said:
"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not making decisions."