Bella Magazine October 2022

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Bella is back and I gotta tell you – it feels good.

I was a little nervous about taking a few months off from publishing Bella, but it was the best decision – not just to recharge my own batteries, but to take the time to step back and look at the mission of Bella. As I sat drinking my coffee one morning, I realized it comes down to this: Bella’s mission is to support, uplift and inspire women.

I am passionate about women, our many facets and what we can accomplish when we come together. We do so much for others and sometimes we need a little support ourselves – maybe a little confdence boost or a little nudge to overcome fears, maybe a little reminder that we don’t have to do everything and be everything.

I want Bella to be that for the women of Pensacola.

I always say that women are multidimensional, and so is Bella. Women are also always evolving, and I want Bella to keep evolving, too.

When I step back and look at my own evolution, I began my career in the ’90s in the information technology feld. I was a woman in STEM before there was a STEM acronym. Looking back, I took it for granted. I worked for an international consulting frm and was surrounded by other women in technology and people from all over the world. And while I saw my mother battle the glass ceiling, I thought that battle was over and would be a non-issue for me and my peers. How naïve I was.

According to the United States Census Bureau, women earned 83 cents to every dollar earned by men in 2020. And according to the New England Journal of Medicine, women are seven times more likely than men to be misdiagnosed and discharged in the middle of having a heart attack. We’re dismissed far too often.

Do not get me wrong – women truly have come a long way. We have fought to have choices – to have the option to work or stay home with children or some combination; we have fought for pay equity and have come far; we have fought to vote and to make our own healthcare choices.

Women fght every day for loved ones and for their communities and we are not done.

Bella is going to bring you inspirational stories of women in our local community fghting the good fght and shaping the world around us for the better. We also aim to bring you the ideas that inspire you to take care of your mind, body and soul.

I want you to be part of this journey from the beginning. Share the inspirational women in your life with me and help me tell their story. Together, we will lift women up.

You can share your ideas with me by emailing kelly@bellamagazine.com.