Back to Life, Back to Reality

Labor Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. I was going to write a bit about why, but it turns out I've already posted about it several times before: for instance, in 2009 and 2011.

All I have to add is this: when Labor Day passes, that signals the end of summer. Not just for me, but for the country as a whole, it seems. Regardless of the weather, come September it means putting away carefree summer attitudes and getting down to business. Back to life, back to reality, as the song goes.

We've had a great summer here at CHICKS ROCK! We hope you've enjoyed our Summer Retrospective, which included reruns of some of our favorite past posts. It's been fun for us to take a little look back at the past few years of our individual lives, and the life of this blog.

If you want to check out more past posts, you can always dip into our blog archives; if you're new to the blog it's a great way to get to know all of us better. If you've been reading us for a while, it's a nice trip down memory lane!

This fall, we'll be posting new content on Mondays through Fridays. And we want to hear from YOU! We love comments, guest posts, and all kinds of input that help us make this blog a conversation.

THANKS FOR READING!!!

Holiday Break at CHICKS ROCK!

We're nearing the end of 2010, and just as many of you are getting ready for the time with your family and friends, we here at CHICKS ROCK! are doing the same. But, never fear, as we've done these past couple of years, we'll be reposting some of our favorite posts from the past year for the next couple of weeks.

Look back with us on some of the things we've experienced this year, and take a little time to reflect on your own ups and downs.

We hope you enjoy it! And in the meantime, you can keep on shopping through TWM's Holiday Bazaar.

CHICKS ROCK Holiday

Just like we did last year, we'll be giving the bloggers here at CHICKS ROCK! some time off to spend time with their family and friends. We've chosen some of our favorite posts from the past year to re-post.

We hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane!

In the meantime, be sure to check out TWM's online auction. Some great items ending tomorrow and a few more ending on Tuesday.

CHICKS ROCK! Holiday

Now that the holiday season is nearing its end, we want to give the bloggers here at CHICKS ROCK! some time to enjoy their own family and friends. But we won't be leaving the blog high and dry during this time. Instead, we've chosen some of the top posts from the past three months to highlight. This will give new readers a chance to catch up on some of the discussions we've had on here, and old readers to give more thought to forgotten posts.

We hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane!

TGIF at CHICKS ROCK!

On Fridays, CHICKS ROCK! will offer special treats to end the week.

Friday Features will host some of our guest bloggers writing about things that interest them, some of which are topics we might not normally blog about. (This guest blogger could be you!) Some weeks we'll switch it up and have book reviews, reflections on events, and other cool stuff we think you should check out.

Friday Forums will be your chance to raise your voice! Some weeks will be recommended reading we find in the blogosphere, with the comments section ready for you to reflect on what you've read and to share your own posts. Other times we'll have open threads prompted by questions or hot topics that you can submit and, of course, respond to.

Don't forget to email us any suggestions you have for books, events, restaurants, and other things to review or questions and topics to discuss.

Guidelines for Guest Bloggers

CHICKS ROCK! Bloggers and Guest Bloggers should write with an awareness of the mission and vision of the blog: to share experiences of diversity, empowerment and personal growth through women’s individual and collective voices. The following guidelines will help you write a rockin' post:

VOICE
- Content should always be from the author’s personal experience and should aim to educate, inspire, or motivate the reader to learn more about themselves or discover something new.
- Posts should be positive and the voice should be friendly, empowering, questioning, and inviting.
- If you are writing about a situation that upset you (discrimination, sexism, etc.), please do encourage debate and discussion. However, debate for debate’s sake or argument for argument’s sake is not appropriate.

CONTENT
- The #1 rule is: keep it personal! Writing about social and political issues should spark from a personal experience and be discussed from that point of view.
- Relating/connecting to a global perspective is always encouraged.
- Use images and videos sparingly and when appropriate.
- Topics should be relevant to the blog’s mission. For an example, check out our tag list.
- Posts should be approximately 250-350 words.

THE (HOPEFULLY) OBVIOUS
- Plagiarism will not be tolerated; however, you are free to link to other blogs/bloggers if appropriate. When quoting or referencing another person’s work, name and link to the original source.
- No foul or offensive language or images will be allowed. Our goal is to unite, not divide, and this is not the space for material insulting to any group (based on sex, gender, race, religion, weight, disability, etc.).

SUBMITTING
- Along with your post, please submit a photo and one or two sentences about yourself.
- Submissions should be sent to chicksrockblog@gmail.com.
- Guest posts will go up on Thursdays or as part of our Friday Features. Please note that once your post is reviewed and accepted, we will let you know the date it will be up. Submissions will generally be posted in the order they are received, however, TWM Members will get preference for posting over non-Members.

LEGALITIES
- TWM reserves the right to refuse or remove any posts when deemed necessary or appropriate to do so.
- TWM also reserves the right to amend these guidelines at any time.
- If you're interested in becoming an ongoing TWM Blog Contributor or a recurring TWM Guest Blogger, please email us for more information and for further details regarding our policies.


Being a TWM Blog Contributor or TWM Guest Blogger will give you a voice and visibility to an audience of diverse, dynamic women that will enable you to share your experiences, thoughts, ideas, knowledge and inspiration in an expansive, safe and engaging format. We would love to hear from you!

Our Comment Policy

Because we strive for unity through diversity, we welcome a wide range of viewpoints on all of the subjects we raise. We think that differences of opinion can often lead to great discussion, new perspectives and a deeper understanding of one another. Keeping an open mind is the best way to achieve this.

Bloggers and readers all make up the CHICKS ROCK! community. We don't expect you to agree with all of us, or each other, all the time. But we do expect you to respect all of us, and each other, all the time.

We don't want to police comments, but in order to promote debate and discussion, we reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive to the bloggers and our readers. These include: offensive slurs, harassment aimed at specific bloggers or readers, or threats of any kind. If we find that you've posted something questionable, we'll let you know so you're aware when leaving future comments.

Each blogger is responsible for moderating the comments on her own post, but if you see something you think violates the Comment Policy, please email chicksrockblog@gmail.com, and include the title of the post and the full comment.

About Us (and You!)

CHICKS ROCK! is a program of The Women’s Mosaic^® (TWM) that provides a vehicle for women to share their experiences related to diversity and personal growth. Whether through live events, our eNewsletter, website or this blog, the mission of TWM seeks to educate, inspire, and motivate women of all backgrounds to express their full power and potential in the world.

By creating this interactive and supportive space, we hope to expand our work of fostering positive social change by empowering women to unite through their individual and collective voices. What all of us (women and some rockin’ men too!) have in common is a desire to connect with each other, gain new perspectives and challenge ourselves to grow.

If you fit this description, then we want you to be a part of our community!

Get started by reading some of our posts. Keep track of new posts by subscribing to our feed. You can receive our posts automatically by email or on the web through a reader.

If a post sparks your interest, we encourage you to speak up by leaving a comment (just make sure you read our comment policy first).

On Fridays, we’ll be posting reviews, reflecting on events we attend, and stirring up debate with some hot topics. If you have suggestions for any of this, get more details on Friday Features and Friday Forums and send us your ideas.

We’ll also be featuring some great guest bloggers, and invite you to add your point of view or a perspective that’s missing from the blog. We’ve posted a set of guidelines that can help you write your post.

Of course, we can't bring any of this to you without your support! Please consider becoming a member of The Women's Mosaic or making a tax-deductible donation. If you're interested in advertising on CHICKS ROCK!, please send an email to info@thewomensmosaic.org for more information.