The Ultimate Guide to Aging Gracefully as a Black Woman

I am 58 years old.

I taught for about 15 going on 16 years and I worked in Healthcare for 10 years. I recently went to two job fairs and today employers just want you to scan a QR code to apply or go online to their websites and apply. They no longer take resumes. Currently, I am planning on taking two classes in tech. One is an AI class cause I want to stay abreast of today’s current advancing digital society. Like many people my age, you rely on your children who are millennials to help you navigate your cellphone and laptops.

Now my oldest is encouraging me to take classes. She told me she took a class to navigate her new iPhone. To them, everything can be googled or you can go online to YouTube and watch videos on just about everything. I am just exhausted thinking about it. But I do like to write, I do like poems, I love the news, politics and social justice.

I have developed a platform on Facebook and Instagram to post stories, pictures and videos. I had a TikTok account, but I deleted it cause it was very competitive trying to get monetized. You need like 12K followers. It got to be too much. I was paying to have my videos viewed for more days to reach a larger audience. One video, me and my youngest daughter created with a Beyoncé (Texas Hold ‘Em song in the background) reached 12K views but alas it was muted for a month or so, which kinda sucked. 

With TikTok being shut down for a day, I figured let me just stick to the old tried and true Facebook & Instagram (old people social media). It's great, though. I find out so many historical facts, so many great books to read, cool videos by and for people older than 30, recipes, affirmations, and so many lovely spoken word videos. 

There are also many cool stores, businesses, restaurants in Chicago and around the globe. There's so much social commentary, protest - so many voices being heard. It is a great time for that reason. This social media platform has its woes too. You can be all up in everyone’s business, but it's great to promote my book, to promote my poems, and shout out my website.

My book is on Amazon, and it's titled “The CHI Brown Girl.” (Please order today…I am trying to have my Black Girl Magic 15 minutes!)

Please leave your comments if you enjoyed my little tidbit for today. (Where are all my Educators at? Where are my strong Black Sistas?) We need to come together again and be quiet. Get your Olivia Pope on. Grab your popcorn, and watch this ever changing saga unfold. Let us keep the faith of a mustard seed. We will let go and let God. (🥰🥰🥰 Smooches)