“One day, you will shed the pain and collect a strength that makes you army strong, except you won’t need an army or a tribe, you will just need you. And YOU will be remarkable.”
To The Girl Who Struggles To Feel Good Enough
‘The doctor said, ‘Put your camera down. There’s something on her skin.’ She was born in a hard, thick cocoon.’: Girl with Harlequin Ichthyosis proves ‘beauty is not just skin deep’
“Soon, the tips of her fingers fell off. One grandma asked, ‘Why didn’t you put sunscreen on your daughter?’ as if she was burnt. I couldn’t believe that came out of her mouth.”
‘I met a girl at a party last weekend. Funniest girl I’ve ever met. So I tried to be hilarious, too. And it made me feel tired.’: Woman shares important journey to self-love, ‘I’m my own bully’
“I saw a mom at my son’s school yesterday. She packed her kids healthy lunches and they actually freaking ate them. So last night I tried to force-feed my kids carrots and meatloaf, and they cried.”
‘I’ve been told my feelings are ‘too much.’ The more I heard it, the more I believed it. The world always seems to find a way of telling us we need correcting.’: Woman urges ‘your gift isn’t your shortcoming’
“After sharing this comment with my friend, her reply stopped me in my texting tracks. I had a midnight moment of flickering lights all over my spirit.”
‘Crumbs in the sheets. Worrying about the next career move. Life is messy. Don’t just clean up, laugh in the mess.’: Woman shares powerful reminder ‘only you know what your heart needs’
“You only have this life and the clock started ticking the day you were born. Let go of their approval. You’ll never be remembered for the house, anyway.”
‘I thought it was a cruel joke. There was an ATM withdrawal slip on our counter. ‘What’s this for?’ I asked. His response was one word. ‘Lawyer.’: After divorce, woman learns to love herself again
“I asked, ‘Really?’ at least three times, thinking he was playing a cruel joke.”
‘I want to swallow a bottle of pills and end it.’ Nothing brought me happiness. All I saw was a girl who needed to lose weight.’: Woman details recovery journey, ‘ALL bodies are good bodies’
“The clothes that once fit became baggy. One day, I tried an old pair of jeans on, and they fit. I CRIED. I had gained weight, and that was absolutely terrifying for me. I was always trying to be the ‘perfect’ girl.”
‘Tomorrow, your foot won’t be there.’ It looked like it went through a garbage disposal. I was devastated.’: Amputee shares self-acceptance journey, ‘Being different should be EMBRACED’
“I looked down at my foot. ‘They’re just gonna chop it off? That’s cool.’ At 5 years old, I learned a life lesson many people struggle with into adulthood: self-acceptance.”
‘My husband and I sleep in separate rooms. For 11 years, he’s been downstairs while I’m all the way up in my private mom-cave.’: Woman urges ‘every couple is different, do your thang!’
“I get the ‘ohhhhhhh’ look. Like my marriage is one step away from separate houses and eventually separate lives. ‘But what about cuddling? What about SEX?’ they ask. I feel like this is something I needed to get off my chest.”
‘Some curves don’t need to be flattened.’: Woman urges ‘you are not a before, you are not an after, you are a right now’
“Countless nights I prayed. Countless nights I spoke to the air hoping someone was listening, and I would wake up and not be me. I wanted so badly to fit the mold.”
