Founder’s Note

When I made the bold decision to create a women’s lifestyle publication, I was unsure of so many things. Heck, three months to the site launch I was still calling it Restless in New York. There weren’t a lot of things set in stone but I knew that whatever happened. I wanted an Editor’s Note. In all honesty, it was partly because I wanted to subscribe to the flashy format of big-style magazines where editors go on a tirade listing the various high points and challenges that led to the success of an issue. As time passed, however, I knew that I wouldn’t be doing myself or any of you justice if I didn’t write a love letter to the readers telling you my WHY.

In the three months leading up to the launch, I’d written different variations of this note. Words failed me and words found me. Yet as at 8:22 EST Monday, Dec 31, 2018, barely 5 hours before the launch. I knew that I could not put out what I had. It was my story quite alright, paragraphs of highs and lows arranged in the most exquisite word combos my brain has ever come up with. It was perfect but it was not Girlily’s truth.

Girlily was born out of a place of extreme pain. It took a summer of confusion, unhappiness, unfulfilling relationships and toxic friendships for me to realize that I was living life at the lowest point possible. Like anyone in pain, I took a month to grieve; the most excruciating month on my life and when that phase was over it became undoubtedly clear that my life needed a complete overhaul. things that made me happier, worry less and I took steps to improve my skill. My priorities took a dramatic shift and aside family, it became, in no particular order, self-love, peace of mind, drive and self actualization. The more I pursued this, the happier I became and the beautiful thing about this was that it was my own happiness

It wasn’t because of a person. It wasn’t associated with a thing. It was me. I was the source. I was responsible.

Sometimes, it takes a series of unfortunate events to incentivize that jolt that makes us question the quality of our life, sometimes it’s one major event. But when it happens, it’s such a breath of fresh air to be able to look back and see how differently you did things, how differently you felt about things and how much you’ve grown.

As I savored the strength in my newly found freedom, I could not help but think of the million women out there who, in some way or the other, were all trying to find themselves and live their truth. I wondered if they had a support system, how different their journey would be if they knew that they weren’t alone. That was the birth of Girlily. 

Every girl needs some form of guide, and not any of the generic unrelatable content out there because let’s face it, life is hard and the struggle is real…but it doesn’t have to be.

Before Girlily was born, I was that girl, struggling, chasing the wrong things, not entirely sure where my life was headed. It took a series of extreme events to get my head straight, and when I did, I knew I had to do this; for the girl with questions, for the girl trying to fit in, but most importantly, for the girl wanting to live her best life and pursue her purpose to the fullest.

Girlily is a girl’s guide to life and everything in between.