Happy birthday, GrokNation! We’re two years old now…

And just like that, a year has passed since my first editorial reflection on a year of GrokNation! Those of you who are good at counting (or who have read the title of this piece) might have noticed that this means we are celebrating TWO years now! I’m so proud of the diversity of voices and opinions that have appeared here over the last two years – and looking forward to even more in the future! In fact, we have put up so much content (488 posts, if we believe our WordPress counter!) that we’re sure that you may have missed one or two. So I decided to take a spin through some posts you might have missed – and specifically perhaps could use in your world today. And here are some of the ways our past Grokking can lead to future Grokking!

Let’s Breathe Together. For instance, when I asked lawyer-turned-yoga instructor and nonprofit professional Zack Lodmer to provide some nice, soothing ways to stay sane during election season, I admit I basically thought we’d need those tools to see us to November; considering where we are this week, it’s probably worth revisiting. In that same lens, why not return to some intentional breathing, and use Mary Poppins’ catchphrase – supercalifragilisticexpialidocious – as meditation inspiration? Carla Naumberg has the details in this piece.

Let’s Get Educated and Active Together. These are challenging times. Most of you are not happy with the current Presidential leadership, and even among those of you who voted for POTUS, there are probably feelings that things aren’t working now, or that you didn’t vote for him to mouth off on Twitter impulsively. We all get annoyed with politics. Here’s a good space to talk about those things, respectfully and as a group of people who aren’t Democrats or Republicans here, who can talk even as we may disagree. (At least that’s our goal – we rely on all of you to help us achieve it.) How can we be people beyond the politics? How can we all get along better? How can you get more active to make the world a better place? Here’s one story of how a young local woman ran for political office and won! Plus, the piece includes a bipartisan list of ways to get involved politically.

Let’s Connect to our Passions and Feelings Together. Mayim visited Kiev – a complicated place for her family – and took us along in a video. Our group of active, engaged, educated, funny and fierce women, helmed by the tireless Avital Norman Nathman, brought us inside their hearts and minds in many posts ranging from feminist media to our feminist summer jams. And when something bad happens in the world – we lose a musician before his time, for instance – we can remember together the impact that person had on us personally and the world, and mourn together.

Let’s Geek Out Together. I consider myself a huge Star Wars fan, especially loving the strong women of Star Wars, like Leia (and Carrie Fisher, may she RIP) and Rey. (And I had the chance to talk about them and other fierce female heroes here.) However, I became aware that there’s a whole universe of Star Wars I know very little of, with additional female role models. In a piece that I found fascinating, Allyson Gronowitz made her case why Ahsoka Tano should be the lead character in the next big Star Wars movie. And it was awesome. If you’re a Star Wars fan, don’t miss it. Oh, and speaking of STAR WARS! In case we let you forget for a second, Mayim, her assistant Caroline and I went to Lucasfilm.  Not only was it cool to be there, but Mayim filmed a great segment for “The Star Wars Show…”

And Let’s Celebrate Together! We celebrate this community and our friends, like Mayim celebrated her friend Melissa Rauch’s movie The Bronze by doing a little dance…we celebrate stories of friendship and your enthusiasm for the stories we share here on GrokNation!

And I’m personally thrilled to have become so familiar with so many of you – or at least your social media handles! – over the past two years. (I can name a few now just to impress you: Sabrina (twinklesabri!) Regina rgbcn, Zheshu, Joe ‘Sheldon’ Steiger, ShamyGrokite, Lisa, Angie, Cookie, Ana Carolina, Emmy4Mayim, Aurelie, Krypo, etc..) I love especially that The Big Bang Theory fans have expanded their love for Mayim to include this site and the other writers who post here, participating in conversations, bringing in their own experiences and asking and answering question respectively and patiently. (For the most part. You know how the internet is. :))

On behalf of Mayim and the rest of the GN staff, I thank you for being here with us, and we all look forward to many more posts, conversations and connections with you all in the days, months and year ahead!!