#5SmartReads - November 21, 2022

Olivia on Britney Spears' family, twitter impacting new motherhood,

November 21, 2022

Today’s #5SmartReads contributor is Olivia Dreizen Howell, the co-founder and CEO of Fresh Starts Registry (the first and only support registry and resource guide for anyone navigating life changes, including divorce or breakup, moving, career changes, stepping into your truth, or starting again after grief). Her background is in social media marketing, and she’s also the founder and CEO of March Lion Media, where they have managed social media for brands, businesses and people for a decade. Olivia is a single mom of two amazing boys on Long Island. In her spare time, she loves to watercolor, read about generational trauma, listen to 90s music, and collect crystals she knows nothing about, but love the way they feel.

When I say this article about Britney Spears family blew my mind - it BLEW MY MIND. As a hobby, I tend to read and study generational trauma, and boy oh boy, was this article an example of generational trauma being passed down time and again.

I had no idea about Jamie Spears' personal history, and this piece digs way into his family's lineage, and much of it shines a bright light on what happened to Britney and how her family felt she needed to be treated. It's an in depth look at a family wrought with mental illness, an addition to fame, women's rights, and how generational poverty can impact future generations.

Highly recommend reading this with a cup of tea and some Britney playing in the background. Honestly, it just made me so sad for Britney and I hope she's doing okay.

I'm gonna be honest, one of my biggest pet peeves in life is when someone puts down social media as a whole - as if the whole of the internet is a horrible, bad place. This could not be further from the truth, and I know this because I have seen amazing, miraculous things happen in the world of social media!

I have seen women support women leaving domestic abuse, I have seen people support each other when their child is diagnosed with an illness, and I have seen the power of community help each other get jobs, leave jobs, stand up for themselves, and connect over wires and waves in an empowering and loving way.

If you haven't been paying attention, the last week in the world of Twitter was quite emotional. As someone who has been active on Twitter for most of my adult life, I have found my communities of people - many of whom have become real life friends, and the Elon shake up impacted us all - it was triggering to think we'd all lose the connections we have built up!

This piece on how Twitter helped the writer get through new parenthood is exactly why we need a space like Twitter to connect. When used correctly, the connections you make on Twitter are truly magic, and I am holding out hope that everything will shake out and be okay.

I'm a marketing geek and love to study the people behind the iconic brands!

When McDonalds launched the adult Happy Meals recently, I read this piece on the man who started the original Happy Meals. This was a fascinating read about someone who stuck to their vision and stood up for their creative concept - and it paid off!

Also, absolutely loved learning about the origin story of the toys in Happy Meals and how Star Trek played into the whole picture!

The holidays are just around the corner - which can be stress city for many people, especially women in business!

I appreciated being included in this HerMoney piece on how I keep my stress levels low during the chaotic holiday season. Check out this piece for a ton of amazing tips from powerful women on how they hold their boundaries during the holiday season - how do you say no to holiday stress?

I love love, and I love when the universe helps people find each other - when I came across this article, I smiled so wide! Miss Argentina and Miss Puerto Rico reveal they secretly got married - how romantic is that?

That's some meet cute, right? Love it!

Reply

or to participate.