Get to know me, Hannah Slater!

Hey, Y'all, it's Hannah Slater, your host of Girl Chat!

I had originally wanted my first episode/blog to be all about goals. Different types of goals, why they are essential, and all that jazz, but I sat down and recorded for the first take, then re-recorded.... and then re-recorded... and then a couple more times. It didn't feel right for my first official episode/blog for Girl Chat. So I took a moment and started to re-game plan my intentions. I wanted y'all to know my story, my why, and my purpose for Girl Chat!

So, here we are!

-I am Hannah Slater

-I am 24 years old

-I am a small business owner that is located on Main Street Hayward, Wi

• Silver Star Market

-I compete in pageants! I am currently Miss Hayward, and we compete at National American Miss in 3 short weeks!

-I am a cat mom to 3 cats

• Clover Mae

• Poppi Rue

• Buster Moon

  
  
  

  

  

Now, let's get to Girl Chat!

Girl Chat is a Social movement where women support women! The purpose of Girl Chat is to create a community where women can share their experiences, support each other's personal growth, and celebrate their successes. With that being said, the three most significant words for Girl Chat are Support. Sisterhood. Success. Now, let's break down those three words!

Support:

I am truly blessed with the most incredible support ever. You will probably hear me say that many times.. but it is true: I am blessed with a fantastic support system. I grew up in a household where we were told to "Dream Big, to Be Big," no goal is too big, and I know if I tell my support system about a goal I have, they always support me 100% and they help me achieve my goals, no matter how big or how small. My support system is the most crucial part of my success, and I am so blessed to have them. However, I also know what it is like to have someone in your close circle who doesn't support you, doesn't want what's best for you, and doesn't want you to succeed. Last year, I was often told that "your goals are too big" and "that's not realistic."... now keep in mind that I grew up in a household that always said, "Dream Big to Be Big," so in my mind, no goals are "too big," and they are always achievable as long as you have a plan to achieve them. After a while, I finally came to the conclusion that this person did not support me. They did not want what was best for me.. and that was such a hard realization, especially because this person was extremely close to me and was a significant part of my life then. After I came to this realization, it took time to navigate. There are so many changes when someone close to you does not want to support you and won't support you. Now that I am back with my amazing support system, which is 110% supportive of me, it is a lot easier to decide about the goals I want to achieve.

Sisterhood:

I have never had a girl gang up until now, and I am 24... In high school, I always ate lunch with my chemistry teacher until he passed away in March of my senior year. I was on the track team during my first year in college, but I didn't have a group of women I knew I could rely on for anything and everything. In September 2022, I moved to Hayward, and I would occasionally get coffee but did not have a group of close friends. This past May, I told myself that I needed to make some friends.... and I found the most incredible group of women who are so supportive, honestly want what is best for you, and want to see you succeed because they are not intimidated by your success. This group of women has been such a blessing, and the sisterhood that we have is something I will always be grateful for. In pageantry, sisterhood is so important. I have met such incredible women through National American Miss. Sisterhood is so unique, and I want to create an environment where we can rely on and support each other.

Success:

I am big on goals, I love goals, and I am big on achieving goals. My support system always supports my goals; they want to see me achieve them. Now, just like support, I know what it is like when someone doesn't want you to succeed. Whether it's someone close to you or somebody in the world who doesn't want you to succeed simply because it's you. I have experienced both of these, especially having close relationships where they don't want to see you succeed. This was a harsh realization. I realized that any ounce of success, even the smallest amount of success, like getting a workout in for the day, was intimidating to this person, and this person did not want me to succeed no matter what. So, ultimately, I fell into "I am not going to share anything anymore." I kept everything to myself; I stopped being vulnerable.

 At the end of the day, we should all celebrate each other's wins, no matter how big or small.

About nine months ago, I realized I no longer knew who I was. I looked into the mirror, and y'all, I know hate is a strong word, but I looked into the mirror, and I hated who I was. I was so embarrassed that I got that low, and I could not believe I let myself hit rock bottom, and that was hard. I tuned out the outside world, put my head down, and got to work because I wanted to pull myself out of rock bottom. So I made some of the most significant decisions I could have made, and now I am living a completely different life where Support. Sisterhood. Success. are relevant to Girl Chat and to who I am. I want everyone to experience support, success, and sisterhood.

I am SO excited about Girl Chat and nervous about being this vulnerable, especially on social media. I haven't been vulnerable in a long time; this past year, anytime I was vulnerable, I was told, "Why are you crying again?" "your stupid, silly feelings," so I stopped sharing anything. I really relied on my support system to pull myself out of rock bottom, who encouraged me to be vulnerable and accepted me as I was/am.

This past August, I competed at National American Miss Wisconsin; through that experience, I realized that I wanted Girl Chat to come alive. I sat in the 5-hour car ride and said to my mom, "Mom, I want Girl Chat to become a thing. I want to launch it." So here we are; I have been diligently working on Girl Chat every day since August.

Now, I am still determining where Girl Chat will go, what my next episodes/blogs will look like, or even what this entails. Ultimately, I want you to be inspired to "be the girl that just went for it" (Lauren Norris) and "Dream Big to Be Big." I am still determining what is next, but I am excited to be on this journey with y'all.

Support. Sisterhood. Success.

XOXO,

Hannah Slater

My support system ❤️