Welcome to 2010 ladies! A new year, and a new decade! Nothing like starting the New Year in the middle of a race against the clock. 🙂
We are THREE nights away from announcing the SOAR! Scholarship Recipients. Three nights. There is so much to accomplish before Friday. It’s both exciting and SCARY as all get out! Has anyone else not slept? I am one of those people who falls asleep within minutes. And for the last several days, I haven’t slept at all. And if I am lingering on the state of half awake/half asleep, I’m dreaming about all the SOAR! Video Entries. It takes every thing in me not to get out of bed and see if anyone else is awake on the SOAR! site at 3am. 🙂
There are so many amazing video entries. In fact, every video is heartfelt, every single one. As you know, there will only be three recipients announced this Friday. But I’ve been thinking that there has to be a way to showcase more of you and all your hard work.  I think everyone will agree that these SOAR! Video Entries were the most inspiring pieces ever. And the community that has grown out of the SOAR! Scholarship is phenomenal. The support you are all providing each other on the SOAR! site is amazing. I can’t wait to release the forum!
In thinking of ways to celebrate your videos even more, I had an idea. What do you think about having a SOAR! 2009 Hall of Fame on our future SOARity forum and website?  The SOAR! 2009 Hall of Fame could be dedicated to the video entries that stick out most to all of you. There could be a top three videos for each category below…But what do you think? I would want the spirit of this to celebrate women even more. Thoughts anyone?
If you love this idea and want to help organize a way for us to create a SOAR! Hall of Fame (i.e. organizing a panel to vote or some other system or creating fun categories that I missed below, etc.) email us today! (soar@fioria.us with the SUBJECT TITLE: SOAR! Hall of Fame). My plate is crazy full,right now, but if any of you feel inspired to run with this idea, it would be great. And we would love to help support you in making this happen! Below are some suggested categories, but feel free to brainstorm something more!
SOAR! 2009 Hall of Fame
1. Most Creative
2. Most Hilarious
3. Most Daring
4. Most Inspirational
5. Most Entertaining
6. Most Confident Video Presence
7. Most Heart Warming
8. Best Video Editing
9. Best Photography
10. All Around BEST SOAR! 2009 Video
p,s. The SOAR! Forum is also in the works! I can’t wait! 2010 is going to be our year ladies! Sorry about no photo today. We are racing the clock, but never fear, Mamabloo is coming tomorrow to the rescue with one of my favorite Photocoaching Tips for Kids and Adults!
Great idea Me Ra! What a way to make some more women feel deserving and special! You def. have lots on your plate. It is all about the climb and LOVE where you are today. Thanks again for this AWESOME SOAR project! We are all going to SOAR this year thanks to you!
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. – Henry Ford”
Hugs,
Nancy
LOVE it!
You are inspiration overflowing!
Get some sleep!
Bekah
Me Ra,
That is such a great idea! I, too, cannot believe the type of community that has been created here, it is simply amazing. This would really be a great way for others to celebrate their efforts and help keep them SOARing throughout the year! Thank you once again Me Ra for your kindness, committment and genorosity!! 🙂
((Hugs))
Marla-Dee
You never cease to amaze me MeRa. What a great way to keep encouraging us and keep the momentum flowing even with the dealine approaching. Thank you for inspiring us all and teaching us how to fly this year. This journey is going to be amazing!
Awesome idea! A great way to keep all this exciting energy flowing and to keep these wonderful inspirational women connected. LOVE IT!
Me Ra, you are a true inspiration to so many. I have a feeling that you will probably want to collapse and sleep for a week once the winners have been announced.
Looking forward to the photo tips tomorrow.
How do you come up with all of these awesome ideas?!?!? It’s amazing how they just keep flowing out of you. I also think it’s amazing how you have somehow turned this scholarship into a loving, supportive community for all of us. It is really a competition that we ALL DESPARATELY WANT TO WIN. Yet somehow, we are all encouraging everyone else and wishing everyone the best of luck. I think your dreams of inspiring and encouraging women has come true. Look at how many women you are touching with this scholarship. Even women that didn’t even apply for the scholarship will be encouraged by what is going on. I thank you once again for all that you are doing.
“Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.”
Langston Hughes
XOXO
Billie
That would be fun…there were so many creative people who really showcased their talents well on their videos. I don’t know how you can narrow them down…if only there could be a category for those who had no idea how to put together and edit a video but posted one regardless!! ( I would surely make that one!)
You are certainly inspiring…..I have so much to learn and so hope to be able to SOAR with this opportunity. Thank you for listening to God’s whisper on your heart to support and encourage so many.
You are super duper….did I really just say that? Yep, must be the mommy in me. This is a fabulous idea. I cannot spearhead the project, but would be willing to help in anyway I can. I’ll shoot ya an e-mail. Now, get some sleep! 🙂 Shawna
Great idea. I’m going to think about what other categories might be fun.
Wow MeRa. You are such an inspiration. What a great idea! Thank you for all you do.
What a wonderful idea and a great way to recognize more than just three videos.
Me Ra – we celebrate your wise feminine leadership! This is the kind of leadership that LOVES and empowers and encourages and delights in each person’s success. When you connect with your wisdom we all flourish! Just what the world needs.
Wow. I just realized that this is just like the microloans where they found out that if you give a loan to a man his family might improve and if you give a loan to a woman the whole village gets better. (I know that’s not true of all our great husbands, brothers, friends but the statistics worldwide do show this!)
It’s probably b/c of the kind of great feminine support we’ve see everyone share during this whole SOAR process! The words of encouragement are just as moving as the videos!
I probably fell asleep at 4 am today, was so hyper and anxious and did end up dreaming about soar videos. I just can not wait til we know, it is the anxiety that is the worst. It is in Gods hands and I will be ok if I do not win, probably will cry but I just want to know, either way Soar has taught me so much and I am loving the spirit that is coming out of this and a forum would be great, we need a 1 place to communicate and help each other out instead of all over the place. I loveeeee these categories and this is a fun idea, maybe we can add best outakes as well, I so wanted to do mine but I did my video in one shot, do have other video footage which I did not show but do not have good editing stuff here. I am up to watching 167 videos and hope to finish them all before the announcement, just wondering it will be at midnight or during the day, can you please tell us Mera, pretty please
thank you again~
I’ve been a bit shy about posting here, but I do want to say thank you to everyone! I love reading these posts and THANK YOU Me Ra for all you’ve done!
What an awesome idea! Your inability to sleep is such a testament to your willingness to be incredibly considerate of every applicant – because we are all swimming in your consciousness.
However, I agree with those above – please do try to get some sleep. I write that knowing that it would be incredibly difficult for me too, given the position you are in. Thanks for holding all of our dreams so sweetly. It is much appreciated.
Great idea!
Your wheels are always turning. Indeed. Hoping you have a restful night of sleep very soon!
LOVE IT! Let’s do it! I’m pretty sure all of the fellow SOAR! sisters are right there with you on the sleeplessness issue – especially the late night posters on the SOAR! wall – it’s so cool when you see a new post at midnight – and you know you’re not alone in your insomniatic anticipation!
Thank you for being such an inspiration and role model, Me Ra! Your encouragement makes us all feel like winners!
All the best to you and your family in 2010!
It’s an awesome idea. I’d love to help, but not spearhead as my job is crazy busy right now. Thanks for keeping us all going and excited. I am barely sleeping here. I am so excited to find out! 🙂
MeRa,
You are incredible and so giving. May God bless you beyond belief.
Dear Me Ra,
The endless ideas never cease to amaze me! Yes, I am usually one of the ones awake at 3.a.m. – one of those blessed (sometimes it can be a curse too) with insomnia in a big way. When you announced yesterday(well now it’s the day before yesterday, cuz it’a already tomorrow 1:55 a.m.) that you had an exciting annoucement to post the next day…I ran over here to check it out since it technically was the next day…just way to early in the morning. Was around 2:30 a.m or so!
This idea is great and would be wonderful to implement, and fun to see the results! Let me know if I can help in any way.
BTW…Since I just found your site a few weeks ago, I’ve been following your blog. I love the way you write straight from the heart and the post from Dec 31st is one of my favorite.
I Promise to go to bed tonight and try to shut the wheels of my mind down and finally get some rest! These fingers need a rest too!
You are just tooooo good to us MeRa! What a great way to celebrate Soar entrants! =)
I would be happy to help out in any way that I can.
Me Ra, you did a wonderful thing with the SOAR scholarships, and it inspires me to try to do a little something good, too. Please send my email to Hannah (video #235) and tell her Martha (Marty) Kravchak wants to help. I can get her your two award-winning videos, and I have some ideas about getting her camera needs met. With some brainstorming, I suspect friends and I can come up with some professional tutoring to get her going. As a former inner city teacher, I feel a strong need to see her succeed in giving her community in Philadelphia the gift of its photo “voice.” Ask her to put HANNAH in the subject line if she chooses to email me, so I don’t toss it out with the daily spam. Many thanks.