First, let me introduce myself. My name is Maria, breast cancer survivor, college professor of the Spanish language, literature, and culture, a single mother of one, a daughter, a sister, and a friend, and, most important in this context, I am 52. Where did all that time go? Most of the time, I think it is totally surreal to be in my 50’s when it never feels like I am a middle-aged woman, never. In short, that is who I am, but of course, there is a lot more about me than this short introduction. After careful consideration and an incredible amount of self-doubt, I have decided to start blogging at this “tender” age. Why have I decided to start a blog at this precise moment? Uh, well? Why not?
I have lived long enough to have experienced quite a lot. My life is and has been anything but ordinary; hence, my decision to write. I have a burning desire to share my life experience, ups and downs, achievements, and failures with whoever wants to read me. My main goal with this blog is to help other women in any capacity I can help. Ideally, I would love to interact with my readers, be part of their daily lives, so to speak. I am not a medical doctor; neither am I a nutritionist nor a psychologist; all my advice comes from research and personal experience. All I know is that the suggestions I will be giving in the future I tried them and got a positive result. I know it will be a challenge, but that is what life is about, so let’s get this party started…
It is all about balance; it sounds simple right? Well, it is not. But this concept has become my philosophy of life for the past five years or so, five years that have been transformative for me, to say the least. I firmly swear by this motto: no balance, no harmony. To achieve that general balance in one’s life, it is imperative to do plenty of introspection and self-reflection. That is what I have been doing for the past seven years, and oh boy, has it been exhausting! And painful! It’s about a real sense of well-being and feeling that we need to feel good about ourselves. This blog has been conceived to help mature women to slow the aging process. I have plenty of beauty, fashion, diet, fitness, and positivity tips. Life is a beautiful journey, full of smaller journeys: each of these journeys is very important to the whole. That is the way I see it; I also believe without a doubt that things happen for a reason. It is similar to the Zen way of thinking; I will be recommending literature related to that in future posts.
Mid-life is probably a good time to think about where we were, where we are, and where we are going. But rather than becoming philosophical, let’s be practical, which is, by the way, a big part of my personality; I am a very pragmatic woman. I want to use my wisdom and whatever it is that works for me to try to help other women my age in their journey. I strongly believe in female camaraderie; I think it empowers women in a way that no other type of relationship can. If we support each other, we will become stronger, and if we are stronger, we can surpass fear. Insecurities are part of our DNA, and there will always be there; however, as we age, we should overcome most of those insecurities. This is what my blog will be trying to achieve; by sharing our experiences and wisdom, we can conquer it all; it is a teamwork thing.
There must be a starting point, and it takes some determination and willingness, but it is doable. Although it is not easy to be positive all the time, at least we should try. I want to share my advice to improve our lives. Happiness is a relative concept; no one is happy all the time; it’s about appreciating what we’ve got, not wanting what we don’t. Most of us have a lot; we have to stop and look around. I am not trying to sugarcoat anything; believe me, I am not that way.
This is my introductory post; from now on, I will be writing about many different topics about the lives of women like me, women in their 50’s, the struggles, the pain, the difficulties, and the good times and the joy. Follow me on this journey!!!! I should add that male readers are totally welcome; it is always good to try to know women better from a female perspective.