words Sarah Bagharib

I was really excited about 2020 - coming out of a postpartum funk, I was looking forward to the new decade and working on Crazycat once again. I had grand plans to hold more events like #LettingYourLightShine in 2018 or more of our signature Crazycat Gets Cosy sessions. But fate had it, they weren’t meant to happen this year.

But with each intention we set, we take micro-steps (no matter how small!) to make them happen. And that’s exactly what I did; I asked for help and help came in the form of new team members (my sister Zahwah, my long-lost friend from university Rev, and the lovely Ry-Ann who dropped us an email one day and asked if she could lend a helping hand). Having a new team meant that there was renewed enthusiasm and we’ve all since been committed to our mission; to support and empower everyday women to embrace their individuality and recognise their self-worth and full potential.

We want women to know that they are not alone on their journey of growth and self-discovery and that together, we can build a world where women thrive and continue to create a cycle of strength from one woman to another.

On International Women’s Day this year, we quietly re-launched Crazycat on our social media pages with a graphic collaboration with Tragikomedi :

We wanted to start again by reminding other women of their worth and how we’re all meant to shine. It isn’t always easy, actually, the journey can be incredibly tough, but there’s nothing we can’t overcome together as a community.

And since then, we’ve shared 23 stories, ran a few campaigns (including #CrazycatsAtHome IG live series, #shineonwomen in the aftermath of the OLG saga, and #CrazycatGetsReal in celebration of World Mental Health Day, and we started sharing weekly affirmations every Sunday night). These campaigns were a way for us to showcase the importance of gratitude, reflection, self-love and self-care. To show that the pandemic can be the uprooting sign for greater change to come if we want it to be.

… For all that you've been through this year, we hope you know that you are seen and appreciated. Thank you for showing up and acknowledging your strengths. Thank you for helping others and having faith. Thank you for never giving up and loving yourself.

… we're reminding ourselves of all we've achieved this year and to trust the journey that we're still on. We're grateful for the small steps we've taken to be who we are today, and we know that there's still so much ahead.

2020 taught me plenty but my biggest takeaway is the realisation that we are all collectively grieving this year; my friend Faz Gaffa from MySafeSphere put it really well here :

“Our primitive mind knows something bad is happening, but you can’t see it. This breaks our sense of safety. We’re feeling that loss of safety. We’ve never collectively lost our sense of general safety like this. Individually or as smaller groups, people have felt this. But all together, this is new. We are grieving on a micro and a macro level.”

And I am not alone. 2020 in all its challenging moments had also gifted everyone moments of reflection. It had given us the time (quite a lot of it) to reflect. And that’s what we wanted to accomplish as well. So, with my team at Crazycat, we worked hard to make sure that other women can feel the same way through ...

Community

Connection (even if online!)

Through the women, we’ve met and the stories we’ve told… 

2020 hasn’t been easy, nor has it been carefree, but at the end of the day, we’ve also learned so much from you. We learned small things, like how families came together to help one another out. We also learned big things, like the value of true human kindness through all the changes we’ve faced this year. But most of all, 2020 had provided us with many opportunities for learning, unlearning and growth. And if you felt that 2020 had truly been the longest year, we are right there with you. But it also showed us that we are still left with something real to move forward into the future with. And we can’t wait to kickstart what we have in store for you in 2021!

Here’s a little snippet of what we have planned for 2021 :

• A return of our events (Crazycat Gets Cosy and more!)

• A new series of workshops for personal development & mental health and wellness (as requested by YOU!) 

• More content that can help empower you to gain confidence and thrive through the many roles you play (including more Crazycat stories!)

And as always, do share your thoughts with us or what you would like to see more of! Don’t forget, you can also join our mailing list 😘 And with that, here’s to another amazing year, everyone!

Just remember, start as small or as grand as you want, but if we all take a little step in the right direction, we will be that much closer to what we hope to achieve. So act upon that desire to make a difference!