March has to be one of my favorite months of the year because we are officially celebrating women around the world. As I keep evolving into my womanhood, each year this month allows me to reflect on my journey as a woman. With each year there is always a milestone that I celebrate as I come into my womanhood. This year I am paying homage to my body. Women’s bodies are so intricately created that there is no uniform way of describing us, and I personally find that magical.
This year I am taking the time out to celebrate my body. As someone who has had a love-hate relationship with their body, this milestone is one that is quite special to me. If you have grown up in an African household, you have heard a relative give an unsolicited opinion about your body. Sometimes these comments can be brushed off, but others have the power to cut deeply. I wish I could say that I was the type of person who could brush things off, but unfortunately, I took every hit. From a young age, I got unsolicited opinions about my body and how much I needed to lose weight and because of how frequently I’d hear this, I was convinced that something was wrong with me. By the time I reached the age of 13, I was in a place of deep self-hate. I allowed those comments to become my reality and in turn that bred a mentality of negativity.
People never seem to give words the weight they deserve. Words are powerful, a true force to be reckoned with. The words spoke on my body became my reality to a point where I was blinded to my own beauty. My reality was that my body was unlovable, and this mentality allowed my mind to amplify every insecurity I had. I carried this on until I started battling all my demons. As I started to grow into who I truly am, I realized that my beauty was for me to understand and enjoy. The world is filled with all sorts of beauty standards that I couldn’t come and kill myself to fit into someone’s box. Although I still get comments about my body, I have reached a point where my body’s perfect imperfections are for me to enjoy, and not for anyone’s scrutiny.
To all my ladies, enjoy every bit of your body. Whether you are slim, thick, slim thick YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. We are not meant to meet any beauty standard because each of us is upholding our own beauty standards. Set your bar to what you want it to be, and do not allow anyone try to conform you to a standard. Break the status quo, until it does not exist.
We are all living in the temples we have been given, be conscious of how you speak on someone else’s. Our differences are what we have in common, and it is what makes me beautiful.
Embrace your beauty. Happy Women’s Month.
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