#YearOfJoy 'Hidden Figures' Movie Night

Such a special night. About 50 girls saw "Hidden Figures" at iPic Houston for free for my #yearofjoy project. Thank you to iPic management Kali Sellars, the parents, chaperones and especially the girls from HISD, Aldine ISD, Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, the Kinder Shelter, Clear Lake HS, Sugar Land and my alma mater St. Agnes Academy. Also special thanks to Noreen Khan-Mayberry who spoke to the girls about her own amazing NASA career.

It's so easy to get caught up in the chaos of the world and forget that a simple trip to the movies may be the thing that inspires one girl to live her dream.

I hope so.

Celebrating another Year of Joy

When I started my Year of Joy in 2015, I decided I wanted to do something special for my birthday. Travel some place new. Visit a friend. Prior to this, I usually hid under the covers and hoped no one noticed I was a year older. I stopped counting my years on this Earth long ago so the thought of celebrating seemed a bit depressing.

Oh what a difference a Year of Joy makes. I'm celebrating my birthday with no shame. It's a gift to see another day, live another life and celebrate joy. This year, I visited my girlfriend Stacy in the Bay Area. We hiked five miles at Muir Woods National Monument, laughed a lot and ate great food.  A perfect way to start another #yearofjoy.)

My #YearOfJoy Ice Skating Party was magical!

Also, click here to read the Houston Chronicle coverage.

My #YearOfJoy in PetTalk magazine

A #YearOfJoy party at SoulCycle

I can't stop smiling when I see this photo. My first official #YearOfJoy celebration and 50 some friends, colleagues and even my brother joined me today at the new SoulCycle Memorial in Houston. We sweated it with. We laughed and celebrated our joy. It was amazing.

A letter from a mentee

I received the most beautiful email today from a young lady I mentored when she was journalism student at Texas Southern University. She's now a working journalist:

Hi, Joy!

I hope that all is going well for you. I just wanted to reach out and say how much I'm enjoying your ‪#‎YearOfJoy‬ project. I read Shonda Rhimes' book on NYE and decided that I was going to improve my quality of life, too.

I've done a couple big things, but a big part of my #YearOfJoy was leaving my first job of almost four years. I gave my two weeks notice last week. I'm not sure if I fell out of love with what I was doing or if I was just in a toxic environment that made what I was doing miserable. I'm still trying to figure that part out.

Anywho, I say all that to tell you (again) that I really enjoy your #YearOfJoy project. It's a constant reminder to me that it's never too late to change your mind. When you move in joy, life has a wonderful way of working things out. The best is yet to come!

Have a great day!