Why Does This Feel Like a Middle School Sleepover?

The staircase from the greenroom was too steep for my 4” heels, and I was a little wobbly—or maybe that was just my imagination.You might have seen on social media that I repped Team 50s at the last Generation Women show. The event is—well—genius, really. Each month, the producers take a topic and ask someone from each generation to share a story from their life perspective on that topic. The show goes chronologically, starting with the 20s and working its way up. The last generation is 70+; this month, the 70+ was 81. Incredible. I didn’t know what to wear. A friend told me earlier that week to wear black. You’ll fit in anywhere in NYC if you have on at least one piece of black, so black it was—I wore an entire piece of black just to make sure. I also wore a pair of 4” Stiletto sandals, which were gold. I felt much more dressed up than the rest of my stage mates. I was in velvet; they were mostly in jeans. I was in gold heels while they were in flats and sneakers. (And I think it’s too early to wear open-toed sandals in NYC—you can take the girl out of Florida…)My middle school self showed up in all her glory -  awkward, doubting. Maybe I should throw my tennis shoes on with this jumper… In true pubescent pack mentality, I asked the groups’ opinion. You think I should change into my sneakers? No, they all agreed- you look great - wear what you came to wear. I felt vulnerable and maybe a little insecure.What if it fell flat? What if I was making a mistake?It was too late to turn back, so off I went—clomping up the stairs too steep for the heels and perhaps my story... Get full access to How To Blow Up Your Life at sarastansberry.substack.com/subscribe