“She takes a moment to pause and step back, gazing at herself, examining the intricacies of her body, every mole, dimple, and scar…her voice cracks as she mouths, ‘this is a woman.’”

“I was never broken, so there’s nothing to fix.“

"but as my body grows, / so does my mind."

“Taking that leap to cut my hair showed me more of myself to accept and hold onto rather than want anyone else to do it for me.”

"and realize that i’m due for a change

which requires me to remain the same

just a bit more accepting

of the woman i ought to become"

“Some may think that this is the kind of essay that only ugly women write.”

“‘I’ll take it, sir.’ She handed the merchant her card, and the cashier passed it through the cash register. ‘Sold.’”

“I choose to share my beauty with those who cherish it and who won’t tarnish it. It’s not for the world to take what’s mine and feed it through a machine that creates plastic barbie dolls; slaves to an industry responsible for corrupting a generation of Kardashian wannabes.”

How my family's body-shaming led me to codependency issues and a suicide attempt.

“So I decided to give my attitude a switch, / Look at myself every day and give that girl a kiss; / No more over-analyzing the tiny flawed bits, / I’m reminding myself that I’m still the shit!”

“We were invaded, raided, and traded. Then demanded that we keep our hair downgraded.”

“Who knew a little unbounded sensual self-touch could lead to such liberty?”

I am a woman in her twenties with big dreams en route to a beautiful destination and carrying her shitty ovaries, unwillingly, but happily with her.

I‘ve been trapped in this narrative of “not fitting in” and disliking myself so much so that true self-love has been foreign to me. In fact, it’s been so much easier sitting in this place of self-hate than working towards anything else.

Hip dips galore. Stretchmarks spotlighted. Acne scars untouched. What does it feel like to love myself without inhibition?

Note to self: Do not allow them to evaluate and quantify your melanin. You are wise, adequate, and pure just as God made all of us.

From a negative mindset around my melanin features to fully embracing my body and beauty after pregnancy…

The short story of a woman remembering herself by re-identifying with her body

Who created these labels that you have been so keen to hide behind for 28 years? It is time to reject them.