The year is full of possibilities

2015 was an amazing year for Optimistic Soap! I went from making soap purely for myself and friends and began to explore the possibilities of selling to a wider audience.

And I discovered something even more important.

Soap can be a catalyst for good things.

By using some of my profits, I've been able to fund endeavors that I find incredibly worthwhile. Here are a few of them:

• I donated enough money to Seva to pay for three cataract surgeries, which will allow three blind people in a developing country to see. Here's how I discovered that soap can cure blindness.

• The Syrian refugee crisis tears at my heart, so I was happy to be able to send some of my profits to Samaritan's Purse.

• Coworkers banded together to raise $5,000 towards relief efforts in Chennai to combat the devastating flooding in their home country. Optimistic Soap was happy to contribute to this larger effort.

• I donated several baskets of soaps to my company's United Way Silent Auction, which helped raise funds to benefit local families in need.

By offering soap as an incentive to encourage votes for my friend, Nadine, in a Fjallraven Polar contest, I helped boost her votes and raise awareness to try to help her realize a lifelong dream.

And it's been FUN! I've really enjoyed the creative process of planning, making and packaging my soaps! Exploring different techniques, ways to market, package and venues for sale has been so very exciting!

I am very fortunate in that I do not need soaping to support my life. I don't need more and I've found that it's much more satisfying to put my profits out in the world to help other people than to buy something material for myself.

And I've just started. 2015 was the year of modest beginnings for Optimistic Soap. 2016 is a year full of possibilities!

Let's go exploring!