body

Success, for most people, is signified by prosperity, luxury, and opulence. All of which means your success is defined by something outside of you, external measures. I believe success is signified by loving myself, what I do, and how I do it, which are all internal measures controlled by ME. Loving myself is huge component that can’t be overlooked or minimized. As a black woman, with dark skin, living in America has been difficult (putting it mildly)! From the moment I was born I’ve been receiving messaging that tells me I’m not beautiful, unintelligent, unworthy of love and respect… all the way to SUBHUMAN. My skin is too dark, hair too kinky, eyes too big, lips too big, incapable of learning, ghetto, violent… and the list goes on. No matter how much my parents and community tried to teach otherwise, the messaging permeated society and them as well. It’s taken my entire life to unlearn the self-hatred that I’ve been taught, and class is still in session. Self Love isn’t exclusively about loving the physical body you have, but also about feeling comfortable in your skin. What does that mean… Comfortable? I means feeling like your life has value. Feeling like your life is protected. Feeling like your existence isn’t regarded as negligible. Knowing that one look at your skin tone won’t induce fear. Trusting that one glance at your body doesn’t diminish you to your sex organs. That your voice is heard and has merit. The body section of my site is my exploration into what it means to be Comfortable in My Skin. Loving myself enough to eat well, exercise, sleep well, and care enough for my physical body to express the person I am inside openly and freely with the world.