A year ago, I posted my first TikTok.
I had been feeling low about turning 60 and thinking about how much of my life I had already lived. I was proud of my life, but I didn’t want to keep sitting with the sadness and uncertainty I felt about that birthday.
So I posted a video.
It wasn’t part of a big plan. Putting myself out there was a way to say, Here I am. I wanted to express something I couldn’t quite explain, and I wanted to stop worrying so much about what people might think of me or what I chose to post. There was freedom in pressing “post” and letting it be out in the world.
The response surprised me. That first birthday video reached far more people than I ever imagined. I kept making videos, and a year later, my 61st birthday video reached millions of people on TikTok and Instagram.
I still have moments when I look at those numbers and think, How did this happen?
But the numbers aren’t the part I think about most. It’s the women in the comments. Some tell me they’re nervous about getting older. Some are already in their 60s or 70s and say a video made them smile, brought back a memory or made them want to get up and move. A few have told me they started looking at their own age differently. Those comments have stayed with me.
People find my page for different reasons. A birthday video might bring them there, but some stay for the music. I love songs from the ’60s all the way through today, and I put a lot into getting the lip syncing right. A song can take you straight back to a place, a person or a version of yourself you haven’t thought about in years. I love reading the memories people share when that happens.
Others come for the workout videos or the high-energy posts. I’m 61, and I still lift weights, dance, walk and find ways to move that I enjoy. I’ve exercised for most of my life, but I didn’t start CrossFit until I was 47. I share those clips because this is what my life looks like. Hearing that they’ve energized another woman has been one of the best surprises of all.
Showing up online has changed something in me, too. It’s easy to say you no longer care what people think. Actually letting yourself be seen is harder. I’m still learning to do that. I’ve posted videos I loved that barely went anywhere, and others that reached people around the world. I’ve read kind comments and unkind ones. Through all of it, I’ve become more comfortable showing up as myself.
My life is changing off-screen as well. My boys are grown, and my youngest has left for college. After so many years of being a mom with kids at home, I’m figuring out what this chapter looks like for me. I’m still their mom, of course. I also have more room to ask what I want to do, try and create.
Taking care of myself is part of that. Strength training helps me feel capable. I enjoy walking, dancing and pickleball. I try to eat well and pay attention to sleep and recovery. Giving up alcohol has made a real difference in how I feel, especially with my anxiety. These are choices I’ve made over time, and I’m still figuring things out like everyone else.
When I posted that first video, I had no idea it would lead to new friends, new opportunities and conversations with women I never would have met otherwise.
I still don’t know exactly where all of this is going. I’m glad I posted the video anyway.
I started posting because I wanted to feel differently about turning 60. I never imagined those videos would reach so many women, or that hearing from them would change how I felt, too.
Now I’m 61, and I still don’t know exactly where this is going. I’m just glad I stopped being afraid to begin.
