Taking Chances...One More Time
- Johanna Socha
- Jul 20, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 21, 2025
Some ideas you just can't let go of. No matter what anyone says, or how long ago it was.
Because you just know it might be worth one more try.
Island Gals Magazine was an idea that came to me almost 15 years ago.
A printed gathering place of sorts, where ordinary women - your neighbours, your friends, maybe your dentist or just someone you met along the way in life - could share their incredible relatable experiences, and words of wisdom you could put in your pocket and pull out when your own journey needed it.
Stories in their own words of defeating hardships, sweet victories, and oftentimes some good solid advise you just might need one day.
Relatable stories and experiences can be validating.
No matter who you are or where you live, and how long ago it was. It always has the ability to matter.
And I know that every one of us has a story worth sharing.
And long story short - I decided to give it a try.
Using the skills that I had, and with the kind support and contributions of some of these women, who shared their stories in their own words, I put together the first print issue of Island Gals Magazine in 2011.
I printed 100 copies.
And gave a few copies to each of my original contributors, the rest to family and friends, and basically decided that if I never heard from anyone again, and it was the first and last issue, I would be ok with that.
The goal was just to try - and get it out of my system - like a pebble in your shoe that you finally find and get rid of.
But instead, they shared the magazine with their friends, who had stories of their own they wanted to share in the next issue.
And so 3 years and 11 issues later, with new contributors and actual subscribers, I finally began to believe that 'hey, maybe this actually is a good idea.'
But sometimes, life throws a boulder at you. A big fat ugly boulder.
And it knocks you flat on your back.
And it takes a really long time to get back up and find a way to go around that boulder (because some boulders you just can't move.)
And you don't even know where your confidence went or how to get it back.
(More on that later.)
And so here we are. Ten years later. And that good idea never stopped feeling like a good idea that must might be worth one more try.
Only this time with so many lessons learned.
As I started to pull together some of the original articles I hadn't read in years, to post on this new Island Gals online magazine, I realized something that I'm sure I knew all along.
Even 10-15 years later, relatable stories don't age. They don't go out of style. They hold the same meaning and value as they did when first written.
And I feel just as certain as I did the first time around, that someone reading maybe benefit.
And that's what it was always about.
Below is an excerpt from my very first editorial for Island Gals Issue 1.
Funny how when I read it recently after so many years, it still held the same meaning.
But I've got the last ten years I've got to fill in.
Significant changes seem to occur within the decades of a woman’s life; Or so is the case of mine.
I can barely remember birth to age ten, except for a few scattered memories, and the envy I felt at my older sister’s head start into her teens. I do remember the freedom of not worrying what anyone thought. I would swing on the swing set in our backyard, and sing at the top of my lungs. What anyone thought, or whether I was in tune, was never a consideration.
A popular song in the late sixties was, ‘Those Were the Days’ by Mary Hopkin. I was no more than five, but I knew every word and would sing this song over and over, to the amusement of our old Italian neighbour who would slip me a nickel to sing it again.
I still wonder if I was any good.
My teens were more turbulent. I still wonder why some teenage girls begin to lose their self esteem during this decade, while others gain strength. I was guilty of the first, and perhaps changes that occur within us emotionally and physically were to blame. Why does the acceptance of others become so important? Why does this void guide us to make decisions we may later regret? Now my envy was towards the girls my age who were slimmer, prettier, and had the confidence I lacked. I was happy to leave my teenage years behind.
Twenties seemed to be years of confusion, having no idea what I wanted to be when I ‘grew up’, much less who I wanted to be. I did what many girls with similar confusions did; I married and had a wonderful son, who will always be the greatest pride of my life.
Thirties seemed to be an interesting time. Too old to use youth as an excuse for foolish behavior, and the beginnings of feeling like an adult. This decade seemed to bring on a different understanding of myself, as well as an awakening of an inner strength I didn’t realize I possessed. Many life changes occurred in my thirties; divorce, raising my son, going back to school, and the start of positively understanding exactly what kind of person I may actually be.
I entered my forties kicking and screaming, fearing the number and the stigma attached to it. It took a few years to realize that this ‘curse’ was actually a blessing. I have grown stronger, more appreciative, more patient with life’s stumbles, and less patient with life’s frivolities, more observant of other women, and how much there is to learn from them.
Now in my mid-forties, I still wonder what I want to be when I grow up. I don’t fear that question anymore, but rather try to appreciate and enjoy the challenge of trying to find out.
My place of employment allowed me the opportunity to meet a diverse array of women over the last few years, and I began to pay more attention and realize that inspiring women were right in my own back yard. Numerous women along the way who became more than casual acquaintances, but rather sources of inspiration.
I remember one day thinking,
“I wish I could have one big dinner party with all of these women. What a wonderful gathering of ideas and inspiration, ages and experiences this would be”.
But this would be a fleeting moment, and these women deserved more than a one-time round table. They needed to be sources of inspiration for other women, as they were for me, and from this idea, Island Gals was born.
Naturally, those feelings of self doubt from earlier decades resurfaced. But these same women provided me with immeasurable support, to which I am very grateful.
I truly believe there is a profound reason why these women crossed my path. You will meet them and others in our first issue of Island Gals, and read about their own journeys and stumbles. It is my sincere hope that they touch your spirit as they have touched mine, and you join us in expanding our newly founded ‘dinner party’.
By Johanna Socha . First Published in Island Gals Magazine . 2011 . Volume 1 . Issue 1
