Goodbye, 2024... Hello 2025!

Hey, y'all, it's Hannah Slater, your host of Girl Chat! Welcome to another blog! For this week's blog, I want to talk about my expectations for 2024, how 2024 didn't start like I had wanted it to, the lessons I learned, and some of my goals for 2025!

In my last blog, I talked about how 2024 was not how I had planned; the start of the holidays was the start of a really, really dark place for me. 2024 was the hardest. Ultimately, yet the most rewarding year I have ever experienced., In my head, I wanted to start 2024 with many changes, new goals, and a new outlook on life, but in reality, I started the year at rock bottom. I didn't make any of the changes I wanted to and didn't quite stick to all of the goals I had set out for 2024. The action plan I had all planned out wasn't happening, at least not right away at the beginning of the year. I didn't find joy in anything; my anxiety was at an all-time high, I was the most depressed I had ever been, I was breaking out in eczema due to high stress, I realized I hated the person I was, and I hated being in my home, a place I had worked so hard to achieve. I found myself stuck in a narcissistic, manipulative, and emotionally abusive relationship, not knowing if I was strong enough to leave but knowing I had to. Ultimately, I also realized that the person I thought was the love of my life, the person I had fallen in love with, wasn't actually real; it was a fake front to who this person truly was. At the beginning of 2024, I was trying to process all of this and understand what was happening and what was right for me. J1, I wanted to have everything start over, but that didn't happen. I knew I had to make necessary changes, but I wasn't ready as early as I wanted. 2024 was filled with several lessons, hardships and many "no's," like my offer getting rejected on an incredible piece of property closer to my parents and brothers or placing 1st Runner Up at NAM State (again....) There were so many "no's"; it felt like more "no's" than "yes's," but I knew I had to keep going, but it was so challenging. I learned many lessons in 2024...

2024 taught me:

• True growth takes time, patience, and dedication, leading to long-term success.

  • This is one of the most significant things I learned this year, and it is a testament to the woman I am now compared to the person I was a year ago.

    
    

• It's more than okay to say "no."

  • I got pressured into saying "yes" pretty often, but to take care of yourself and your mental health, it's okay to say "no'.

  • You do not have to have a reason to say "no,"

    
    

• Every "no" is redirection!!!!!

  • I believe this wholeheartedly. God knew my plan well before I even knew what was going on. Being the first-runner-up at state was obviously for a reason, a bigger purpose, because he saw me as a blue banner National queen.

  • If you are being told "no" at a certain opportunity moment, it's okay. Keep going; do not close the door. The journey might not look exactly like you had planned or the timeline you wanted, but that is okay! It's a hard lesson to learn, but it's worth it.

• What is meant for you will NEVER pass you by

  • This was something that was set in stone for me this year. Last year, I had to reassure myself often that if it's meant for you, it will never pass you by.

• The answers you are in search of will only appear when you're ready to face them (this one is so highly true)

  • A hard lesson to learn.....

  • Once my heart and head were on the same wavelength, I knew exactly what needed to be done. There was every single sign that God gave me that reiterated the decision that I knew I had to make. You won't hear or see the answers if you are in denial. I had signed for a REALLY long time.... like a year........that I just continued to ignore every sign. So if you are ready for those answers, you'll hear them, loud and clear, but if you are like me, you'll keep making excuses and say things like, "Well, that's just a coincidence," "That's not true" or "They will change." The likelihood of that happening is slim to none.

    
    

• Your body will tell you when you are not meant for something. 

  • Unfortunately, I learned this one a really hard way.

  • Due to the high amount of stress that I was dealing with, my body was breaking out in eczema. My eczema went away as soon as I chose to walk away from what was causing me that much stress and uncomfortableness. It would only come back when certain things would happen. It is wild that our bodies can react in such powerful ways. I don't have any eczema anymore; I haven't had it for quite some time now since I completely and wholeheartedly walked away from that. Now my skin is very happy. What your body will do and how it speaks to you when you are not meant to be in something is truly amazing.

• Asking for help is essential, and people do not look down on you for asking for help.

  • Y'all hear me say this all the time: I genuinely have the best support system. I knew I needed to ask them for help and rely on them to help me get out of this really challenging place I was in last year. Although I love being alone, I knew that sometimes that was the worst thing for me, so I often hung out with my family. They never judged me or looked at me differently when asking for help. I am truly, forever grateful for them.

• Being vulnerable is not a sign of weakness.

  • I am still struggling with this because last year, and honestly for two years, I was told things like, "You are too emotional." "You are making something out of nothing." "How you feel didn't happen." "Your feelings are stupid and silly." So, I closed off. Whenever I tried to be open and vulnerable and share my opinions or feelings, it always turned into one of the mean comments. Now, through Girl Chat, I know it is okay to be vulnerable and share that not every day is great; many people are going through the same thing. It's important to be vulnerable. So, I am trying to remember that and be comfortable being vulnerable.

    
    

• You cannot pour from an empty cup.

  • I tried pouring from an empty cup for so long, and it did nothing for me. I was hurting myself more and more every day that I tried to pour from an empty cup. I kept giving and giving and giving to something that was never right for me, something that no matter how much I gave, it wasn't going to make it right or make it work; it wasn't going to make something that wasn't meant to be, be.

    
    

• Setting boundaries is healthy.

  • As a young adult, I have learned that boundaries are important. Last year, I was put into many situations where my boundaries were not respected or considered; that is a hard spot.

• You should never have to hide or dim your success.

  • I come from the most incredible support system, and they will always celebrate my success, no matter how big or small. Having to hide any ounce of your success is a huge red flag that you shouldn't be with that person or be friends with that person. If they were truly there for you and cared for you, they would be there for you, and they would want you to succeed and celebrate that.

    
    

• You grow the most when you are uncomfortable.

  • I have been saying this for a while now and genuinely believe it. This last year made this statement come to my mind. 2024 was a really uncomfortable year of growth, but I continue to choose to grow and put myself in uncomfortable situations to grow. We grow the most when we are uncomfortable.

    
    

• Listen when people show you their true colors.

  • If I had listened the first time and not made excuses for their behaviors, I would have saved a lot of heartache.

    
    

• You must make conscious choices to move forward and to let go of what is no longer serving you.

  • If I had stayed where I was last year, none of my success would've happened, and I would not be the person I am today. The person I was with was holding me back from my success and the woman I am today. It was a tough journey to realize that the person you fell in love with isn't even a real person. It's tough when you realize the life you had all planned out was made up in your head; the life you thought you would have isn't even close to reality. That's hard. But I knew I couldn't stay stuck in that; I knew I had to decide to leave to grow, achieve my goals, and be the person I am today. I was going, and I wasn't for a significant amount of time, anything; the longer I stayed, the more I hurt myself and went deeper into my spiral of rock bottom.

    
    

• Is it okay to start over

  • I was really afraid of starting over. I have started over in my home life and things like that, but I have not started over in a relationship or anything like that because, honestly, I don't want to, and I am not ready for it. I am very content with where I am personally, but I was scared to start over. For so many reasons. So many times, I would get told, "Good luck finding better." "Good luck finding someone better than me." So many times, I got told things like that, probably every week. So I got really scared. Could I start over? Is that the right decision for me? Should I start over? Is it okay? What happens when I start over? Now, I can tell you I am much happier, and I would rather start over a million times than be the person I was 365 days ago. It is okay to start over. It is scary, but it is so important, and if necessary, start over!

    
    

• When it's hard, it's worth it.

  • This last year has been so hard. So many things did not go as planned and didn't work out, and that is okay! Choosing myself every single day has been the most challenging part of becoming who I am today. Leaving my relationship was the easiest thing I did. I knew that it was the best thing for me. I knew that I had to do it. I knew that there was no more excuse that I could make. The hard part was choosing myself Every. Single. Day. When people start to tell you things on a daily basis, you begin to believe them; at least I did. I started to think some nasty and negative thoughts about who I was and the kind of person I was, and that was scary. But when it is hard, it is worth it. I am so grateful that I chose to walk away. I am so proud of the person I am today. Although the journey sucked and it was hard, it was worth it. So you will hear me say that line a lot, but when it's hard, it's worth it. It is something my family and I always say, and it has been in my pageant intro for the last two years. Man, oh man, I believe it though. When it's hard, it's worth it.

Now, with all that, I had some incredible successes in 2024. I had three awesome accomplishments within 6 weeks of each other. In September, Silver Star Market was awarded Small Business of the Year. Launching Girl Chat at the beginning of November and at the end of November, we announced that SSM was expanding, and on December 1st, I was crowned National All-American Miss. Those three goals happened in such a short amount of time, and honestly, the last 3 or 4 months have been incredible, amazing, and some of the best moments of my life, but the first part of 2024 was horrible. I know that by looking at my social media feed or my mom's Facebook feed, it seems like I had a fabulous year all year round, and that is because what we decide to post on social media is what we want to post and what we want to show. I didn't show any of my rock-bottom journey; I chose only to post the highlights. Girl Chat reminds me that it is okay to show that things aren't quite perfect and things didn't go the way I had planned. It is okay, and some so many people can relate to that.

Although it was a challenging year, I am so grateful for the hardships I overcame and the growth I had. I am so proud of the person I am today. I am looking forward to 2025. It's going to be a big year, full of opportunities, and I am so excited about it. Here are some goals I have.

My plans for 2025

• Be more present / Soak in every moment.

• Move my body each day, even if it's for 10 minutes.

• Read a devotional every day.

  • I was doing good this summer, but winter hit, and I fell off the wagon.

• Improve time management by following my agenda.

  • This one is so important; as a national queen, as SSM expands and Girl Chat, I need to hone my time management skills and follow a schedule. Thankfully, my mom gave me a massive planner.

• Launch a website for SSM.

• Continue to fight hunger in all 50 states.

  • This has been a goal for a long time, so we are just going to keep working towards it

• I want to leave a legacy of impact through my year as National All-American Miss, through Girl Chat, having these difficult conversations, community involvement, and inspiring young women to break the glass ceiling.

  • I know this is a big goal—probably unmeasurable—and it's not a 'SMART' goal, but I want to leave an impactful legacy.

As we head into 2025, I want to know if it is okay if you didn't start on Jan 1st or 2nd or February 1st, it's OK. I didn't personally start my new journey until April. Small steps lead to great success.

Comment below with your thoughts on topics you want to hear and content you want to see!

XOXO,

Hannah Slater

The Start of Rock Bottom....

Hey, y'all. It's Hannah Slater here, your host of Girl Chat. Welcome to another Girl Chat Blog. This week, we will talk about how wonderful the holidays are and how extremely challenging they can be.

First, I apologize if this week's blog/episode seems choppy. I have re-recorded and re-wrote this week's post serval times because, honestly, I am scared. I know I have said it before, but it is really scary to be vulnerable and open my heart. I know that so many people can relate to extremely challenging holidays.

Before jumping into my story, I want to talk about the incredible holiday season in Hayward, WI. As many of you know, I have a small business called Silver Star Market, which is located in the heart of Hayward on Main Street. During December, many events take place, like a hot chocolate crawl, Santa, and sleigh rides, making Hayward feel like a Hallmark movie. It is truly a magical place with so much beauty and joy here. I also have an incredible family, my support system, who make the holidays even more special.

Okay, let's rewind to last year, November.

This is when my rock bottom journey started, but I didn't know it then.

About a week before NAM Nationals, my parents were out of the country. I was making the last of my holiday food boxes and in the final stages of prep for Nationals. My significant other, who at that time I thought was my life partner, moved out of my house because I had asked him to; it was time. Silly words were said to me, like, "I'll start a war with you because my last name means something." Some harsh words were said to me, some that I can't even imagine saying to another human, and some that I will never actually say out loud. One week before, I wanted to capture my dream title. One week before I left for the opportunity of life, a goal that I had been working so hard for.

At Nationals and honestly preparing for nationals last year, I could never entirely focus on my goals. I could only focus on my relationship, how I ended up in an emotionally abusive, toxic, manipulative relationship, and how I could have let this happen to me. When I took the stage for evening gown, on Thanksgiving day, I was so caught up in what was happening here, in Hayward, rather than taking in a moment that I had been working so hard for. Instead, I was focusing on how devastated I was and how I was in a situation I never thought I would be in. An opportunity of a lifetime was spent focusing on how I could fix something that was never right in the first place.

When we got home from NAM Nationals, I noticed these spots all over my body. They kept getting worse, and I kept getting more of them. My lips had blisters all over them, and they burned. At the time, I thought my body was detoxing/reacting to all of the spray tan and makeup products. However, several months later, I found out that I had eczema and dermatitis around my lips due to dealing with high amounts of stress. Your body will tell you when you don't belong in something. Trust me, I learned the hard way.

Once December hit, I knew I had to start figuring out what the holidays would look like for my personal life and as a small business owner. I thought my significant other, and I would start our own traditions. It was our second Christmas together, and we both verbally talked about making our traditions, ultimately that didn't happen. At the time, it was tough for me to understand and process, especially because we had talked about these becoming the traditions we would share with our future kids. Anytime we tried to do something fun, it ended up in a fight, and I was miserable. We went up to Duluth to see Bentleyville, an incredible holiday light park; I spent the evening walking by myself and crying because yet another fight happened over how we would spend our holidays. While trying to figure out that part of my personal life, I was also trying to figure out how to be proud of being an entrepreneur, how to buy into SSM, the holiday season in Hayward, and how to make everyone happy. All while denying the reality of my relationship and what I now know was the beginning of rock bottom.

There was so much joy surrounding me, but I couldn't see it, and I couldn't feel it. Instead, I was meant with stress, much stress. I tried to ignore what was going on and created a false reality. By the time the holidays were actually here, I was over it. There was no Christmas spirit and no joy in wrapping presents. It wasn't magical when snow would fall. It was stressful trying to arrange plans with people who wouldn't take into consideration my schedule and people who didn't believe in my career. It was difficult to re-arrange my schedule to re-arrange again, for them to be still unhappy. It was even more challenging to attend events where it was made extremely clear that I was not welcome and they did not want me to be there. I was put in hard positions that I wouldn't wish on anyone. It was hard to be surrounded by people who didn't believe in me, who didn't support me, who didn't see my purpose but instead would belittle me for my career path and the hobbies that I love, like pageantry.

My workload was (thankfully) heavy during the awkward time between Christmas and New Year's. Between year-end, counting inventory, flipping SSM store layout, and getting ready for Valentine's Day, I kept my mind busy. However, my family knew something was going on; they could see it significantly sooner than I could. I always did my best to surround myself with them to keep my spirits up, but I knew that I couldn't keep lying to them and myself. I, at some point, had to face reality. But I didn't for a couple of months. I used work as a distraction, but that would often lead to fights about the hours and days I worked. But I just wanted to make it past the holidays. I would do my best to spend as much time with my family, but ultimately, that led to even more arguments, even when I invited him to come with me. Fight after fight.

I knew that my eczema wasn't going away; I wasn't sleeping at night; I would fall asleep on the couch at night to avoid everything, but I could not actually sleep at night.

The holiday season was brutal. I lost my peace because I didn't find joy in the little things.

If you are having a hard time this holiday season, I understand.

I know what it feels like to be by people who don't believe in you.

I know what it feels like not to be welcomed but still have to show up.

I know how hard it is to try and make plans with others who do not care about your schedule or your career.

Please know that I am here for you.

I am here to tell you it can change. This holiday season looks completely different than last year. I am proud of my small business. I am surrounded by people who truly love me and want me to succeed. I see joy in everything now and have my peace back. I know my worth. The person I was 365 days ago is a completely different woman than I am today.

To be even more honest, my personal life was a mess way before last November. November was just the month that I finally saw that my accomplishments could never be celebrated with him, and who I am and what I did were constantly belittled or dismissed. The holidays were the start of a really dark place.

If you made it this far, thank you. This was just the start of a downward spiral, and this blog is just a very small glimpse of what I was going through.

We have plenty to chat about next week but until then

XOXO,

Hannah Slater

Creating Your Platform!

Hey, y'all, it's Hannah Slater here, your host of Girl Chat! Welcome back to another blog! This week is about the steps I took to launch Girl Chat and how I got to this point! For my pageant girls, if you are launching a new platform, rebranding, or launching your first platform, this is the perfect episode for you.

Girl Chat is still pretty new; I launched it about a month and a half ago, but there were a ton of behind-the-scenes that had to happen before I launched Girl Chat. So here are some of the steps!

Step 1: Name

Thankfully, I already knew my social movement (platform) name. My mom and I had Girl Chat picked out for yearsss, but I did have to decide if it was just going to be "Girl Chat," "Girl Chat by Hannah Slater," "Girl Chat by HS," or "Girl Chat Hosted By Hannah Slater." After spending some time on the name, I decided that ' Girl Chat Hosted By Hannah Slater' was the best fit for me and what I envisioned.

Step 2: Logo

I knew I wanted Girl Chat to be me to the core, so that means PINK! I wanted it all to be very pink and fun. I initially wanted my whole logo to be all pink, but then I realized it would clash too much. So, I changed the wording to black. I had to play around with different fonts, sizes, and layouts. I also had to play around with varying shades of pink until I settled on the ones I liked the best. For the logo, I knew I wanted to add squiggly lines like...

I like those lines because I journal a lot. I used to journal multiple times a day in college, and I still do, often, when I would get stressed, frustrated, or not know what to say, I would make squiggly, organic lines all over my journal pages, which is an element that I knew I wanted to work into my logo. After I had done several different designs for my logo, my team (my mom, dad, and brothers) and I decided on my final one.

Once that was finalized, I knew I was shooting new headshots for NAM Nationals with Brittany Link at the end of the month (August). I wanted to take branding pictures with Brittany and figure out what Girl Chat looks like and the social media aspect of Girl Chat. This is something that I still struggle with, but it's a work in progress...

After my logo was finalized, I ordered this so I could use them for my shoot with Brittany, but I had to figure out the rest of Girl Chats branding.

Step 3: Branding

I knew I wanted my videos and vibes to be very casual, warm, welcoming, and approachable. I knew I wanted my pictures with Brittany to match and, of course, to have pink in them. I also wanted to take other content for my social media; Brittany was incredible and eager to help me and answer all of my questions. We did shoot an announcement video, but I chose not to use that video because I did not like my wording, so I actually re-did my own at home. We took a bunch of pictures as well, so I have the content and options to post. I had initially thought that the images I took with Brittany would be the cover photo on the reels for Facebook & Instagram, but I have so many different ways you can view/listen to Girl Chat (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, my website), so for a few episodes I used a photo that looked like this.....

I have also tried using my logo and Episode 5: Creating Your Platform. I am still figuring out what I like better and what works better. I might try trying it out using a picture I took with Brittany this week. I am still working on this part of branding, going with the flow and learning as I go. I also am not 100% on my posting schedule either. Currently, I post once a week on Friday, and my episodes go live simultaneously on all of my platforms. But I am open to changing it up and posting more/different content, like a day in my life.

One of the biggest things I have been struggling with is branding on Facebook and Instagram. I post one-minute clips, which are little snippets of my full episodes, but I have received a lot of feedback saying they think that's my full episode. I have been brainstorming different ways I can share all of my platforms with those who are interested. So branding is definitely an ongoing learning process, and I am trying to figure it out.

Step 4: Posting Schedule

Before officially launching Girl Chat, I planned to post once a week. Initially, I thought Mondays or Tuesdays would be my upload days, but it didn't work out quite like I had planned, so Fridays became my upload days. I will be honest: I do wish I had more of a set-in-stone plan for my recording, editing, and blogging time.

Step 5: Girl Chats Mission Statement

After I took my photos, I had about six weeks to complete steps 5-7 (I was waiting to receive the edited ones). During this time, I finalized my catchphrase and my mission statement.

Catchphrase: Support. Sisterhood. Success.

Mission Statement: Girl Chat’s mission is to give girls and women a sisterhood of encouragement and help teach them techniques to grow through their unique challenges.

Overall takeaway: Girl Chat is a Social Movement and online space where women support women and tackle life's challenges together.

These took a lot of time to finalize, and I wanted them to capture all aspects of what I had envisioned for Girl Chat. So, I knew that I wanted Support. Sisterhood. Success. used in every marketing piece and to really be the main takeaway. Sisterhood is so important; I want everyone to feel like we can create an environment where we are safe and welcomed and get to be real, raw, and honest. Success, I am rooting for you; I will be your number one fan in any journey, and I want you to succeed. I want you to achieve your wildest dreams. It has been incredible to achieve my wildest dreams. Support: I went through some tough things this year, and I wonder if I could have overcome those challenges without my support system. I realized that we never have to fight our battles alone. I want to offer a space where support is always given.

Once all of those details were finalized, I moved on to one of my biggest challenges: my website.

Step 6: Announcement Video

I did shoot an announcement video with Brittany, but I wasn't happy with my wording, so I chose to redo it at home in my normal video setting. I thought this part would be a piece of cake and would take me 15 minutes. My annoyment video was the hardest video I have recorded so far, and it's only a minute. I had already figured out my recording setup, but it took me over 2 hours to record it, and then I had to figure out how to edit it.

Once all those details were finalized and edits were made, I moved on to one of my biggest challenges: my website.

Step 7: Design a Website and set up Instagram, Facebook, YouTube & Spotify

I had to create Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Spotify accounts. I used the same branding on all of my pages, so they matched.

I have never made a website before. I have been working on and off on Silver Star Markets, but I have yet to launch that one, and it's all clothing-based, so it's a little different. My coach, Miss Cady, pushed me to create a website so everything could be in one place. She told me it would take two hours. It took me two hours to figure out how to upload something to Wix... I knew what I wanted my branding to look like for my website, so that part was easy; it was uploading my items from Canva into Wix. This part of the process was very time-consuming and challenging until I got the hang of it. However, I am SO glad I took the time and invested it into my website. I enjoy having a blog and having everything in one spot. It was definitely worth the stress, time, and energy. It still needs improvement; I'm tweaking some things, but we grow and learn along the way!

Now, I have all the aspects of Girl Chat ready. I was prepared to launch Girl Chat, Hosted By Hannah Slater.

Step 8: Launch your Platform

I was absolutely terrified to post my announcement video and to be honest; I am still scared about posting. I am still working to tell my story of being at rock bottom and the hardships I went through this year to get to this point of who I am today. It is scary to be vulnerable! But I am a firm believer that we grow the most when we are uncomfortable, so anytime I get nervous or cold feet, I just remind myself of that.

Girl Chat has been going great so far, and I am so excited about this journey. I am still working on time management, posting schedules, recording, editing, and blogging schedules, and brainstorming my content.

If you are thinking of rebranding or launching a new platform, or if this is your first time creating a platform, my advice is to go for it; you don't know unless you try! I am here if you have any questions, and I will do my best to answer them.

I believe in you.

You are so capable.

Go for it!

XOXO,

Hannah Slater