Be Authentically You

To my Queens,

Hey sis! You are BEAUTIFUL. From your hands comes creation and from your voice comes power. Queen, take great pride knowing that you lead and run the world. From the softness of the curls of your hair to the melanated skin. Your resilience is impeccable, and your independence is longed for by many. Queen I am here to encourage you to always be great and authentically you. Love yourself and take time out for you. Here are tips for you to enhance or start the process of self-pride:

1. Accept Yourself as you are, right now in this moment. Every flaw, mistake, good and bad that has kept you bound and kept you from pushing forward, accept that it was holding you back and you had a downfall. As women, we are very judgmental about ourselves and we always feel like we are not enough, and we need to do more. Learning and embracing self-acceptance doesn’t mean just be pleased about where you are right now that you don’t want to improve but it does mean embrace all of your flaws because honey, you are YOU! You are BEAUTIFULLY & WONDERFULLY MADE in every aspect and no one will ever take that from you because it’s natural. Remember don’t criticize yourself because it will bring you down fast. Let down your hair, breathe and relax, you are doing an amazing job and when you look at yourself in the mirror, say this

I am Gorgeous!

I am Strong!

I am a Conqueror!

I can do anything I want !

I am who I am, and nothing will change that!

My mistakes don’t define me!

The storm will be over soon

2. DO YOUR BEST IN EVERYTHING. It sounds simple but coming from someone who sometimes fails at this, it is very important. I have a problem with trying to be perfect all the time and trying to be correct, but life isn’t perfect so why are you trying to be? This question changed my life. We as women try to be a fixer and everyone’s hero. Before we can be everybody’s hero, we have to love ourselves first. Queen, this tip isn’t for you to do everything right but to take any given opportunity as a time to show your gifts that are unique to you and kick butt.

3. Being more friendly sounds crazy. I know you’re thinking how can being more friendly help me have self-pride! Gandhi said, “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” A major key of self-pride is finding yourself and making yourself feel good. Imagine how you would feel about yourself knowing that you helped an elderly person with a door or giving a homeless person money. Small acts = big blessings. Being friendly and spreading happiness makes everything better. Smile even when it hurts.

To my Kings,

I know it is hard to take pride in yourself right now when the world is trying to make you hide who you really are and conform to someone you don’t even know. I know how confusing it can be when you want to be excited and love yourself but people throw spears of hate into your life. Remember always to be AUTHENTICALLY you and understand that you have an army of men & women that will go to war for you because we know the importance of your life. You are GREAT and we LOVE you! Your life matters and we will fight to make sure that every child with melanin, especially every boy and man, will never feel as if their self-pride has been taken from them.

“You can take pride in yourself without comparing yourself to anybody else. If you run your race and be the best that you can be, then you can feel good about yourself.”