There are three things that the culture of Hatch hinges on: accountability, collaboration, and encouragement. I hope that after a year of its existence—whether you have made it to one event, or have attended all of them—that those three things are what you experience and feel like you can contribute to as part of the growing creative culture in South Florida.

I say creative because I believe each woman that has come to a past event and will come to one in the future carries something very unique. You may not necessarily feel like a creative (I picture my mom who was a professional artist my whole life and would always be found in a paint strewn denim shirt), but I believe each of us are in fact creative, whether our denim shirts are worn or not. Each one of us is unique, with a gift, a skillset, a past, and a future that has molded us into the woman we are. And when we do the very thing that we were created for—whether that is writing a song, drawing, photography, inviting people into our home, organizing events, or thinking through the strategies of launching a new business—we are creating something that without us wouldn’t exist in the way it does with us. We all are creative, whether in the typical sense or not, because we cause something to exist that without us wouldn’t otherwise.

That’s why to me Hatch feels vital.

We need accountability. Firstly, do we see in ourselves this thing that we are created for? Because if we don’t, we need to call it out in one another. I have a friend (to me, she is the picture of this creativity) who opens her home like no one I have ever met, creates intentional conversation around her dinner table, and makes a five-minute acquaintance feel like they’re life-long friends. She has a way of making every person feel so known and loved as the last bite of dinner is taken and the evening ends. I promise I cannot do what she does. She creates a home wherever she goes. Sometimes her office desk even looks a lot like that dinner table! She is who she is, but I really believe she walks in confidence in this gift because so many around her have called this out in her. We need to do this when we meet. To get to know one another and to call out that unique thing—because when it’s called out, it will bloom and flourish. We will look like a community of blooming flowers that feels celebrated in every unique quality that cannot be replaced by another individual.

We need collaboration. As a self-confessed introvert and all round shy person, this is my weakness. There are things that stop me from collaborating—fear of public failure, fear of not appearing as good as I think I should be at what I do, comparison, pride, insecurity. It’s a lot. But if I never collaborate, I won’t discover that the end goal often shouldn’t even be the end goal. Is my success when my song gets finished and release or if people like it? I think collaboration teaches us that the journey is way better traveled together. Because the truth is, some of the sweetest moments happen not when something is completed but usually when we overcome in the middle of the journey. I need others. I need their perspective. I need to realize that they create something I cannot, and that I will always be better if I collaborate with someone.

We need encouragement. This one feels like we don’t even need a paragraph written about it. We need it. Whatever it is we create, whatever it is we bring about or are gifted in, we will go through seasons. Seasons of newness and excitement. Seasons of getting results and flourishing. And in other seasons we will find ourselves under great pressure, wandering, dry. Maybe you’re in a season that is filled with comparison and you’re shut down and ready to give up. The truth is, we are always in one of two places: 1) We either are in need of encouragement or 2) We are the people that need to give encouragement. Next time we find ourselves in the “able to give some encouragement” category, make sure you’re not withholding because you could have the words needed to awaken what was thought to be lost in another person.

So as we head into our second year of Hatch, I hope we are reminded again of the importance of this community we find ourselves a part of, and that we grab ahold of each of these three pillars and welcome what the new year brings us.