You deserve the freedom to celebrate your body too. Working out because I love my body not because I hate it has felt like freedom.Ĭelebrating my Black body has felt like freedom. Not working out simply to burn off my food has felt like freedom. I don't want to be skinny, I want to be strong. Telling people I'm in the gym to build a shelf and be thick AF has felt like freedom. Learning that you don't have to want the body that the world tells you have to want has felt like freedom. Practice makes better not perfect, and each day I am just aiming to be 1% better than the day before. Overcoming gym anxiety and fear was something I avoided for years because I hate the feeling of not being successful at something. Learning to love this body and what it can do regardless of aesthetics has been the hardest yet most rewarding journey I've been on. I've great body image moments and some moments that nearly took me out. I've had some truly badass wins, and some truly embarrassing fails. Trusting my body, advocating for myself and mostly enjoying the process has been my biggest win in 2023. I saw 5 surgeons before I found one who talked to me like a human and not just a body that he didn't understand.īy September of this year I was cleared for sport, running and doing box jumps.īlack bodies are often misunderstood by medical professionals and receiving equitable care is often a struggle. The first doctor I saw about my knee last year told me I'd never run, jump or play sports again. Over the last year I have committed to challenging my body to do more, move more, lift more. I rarely get on here and say i'm proud of myself, but I'm here to tell you- I'm proud of myself. Today is my one year knee reconstruction anniversary. I will walk into every room and know that I belong there- but I get to decide if they deserve me there.īonus: Before you tell me that this isn't linkedin content, remember if you have always felt like you could be yourself at work, that's a privilege I intend to live out loud, love out loud and take my space. Prioritize your happiness, your safety and your love and walk away from those who refuse to see you. Your ability to make people comfortable is not reflective of the value that you hold. It is okay to prioritize your happiness over the comfort of others. It is okay to take up space and show up in the world exactly who you are meant to be. It is okay to be whoever it is that you are meant to be regardless of the comfort of others. It is okay to end friendships, relationships, partnerships when the other party doesn't prioritize your safety over their comfort. It is okay to walk away from those who have to break you into pieces in order to love you. It is okay to burn bridges with people who uphold systems who harm you. It is okay to cut people off who do not value you. The people who choose to only see parts of you are not your people. The people who do not respect your boundaries are not your people. The people who do not value you wholly are not your people. Not everyone has to like you that is okay. We do ourselves and the world a disservice by toning ourselves down for society. It took a long time for me to hold the word 'no' in my hands and honor it. It took a long time to show up for me instead of for others. I have healed too much to not be intentional about who has access to me. If my existence bothers you, that is a you problem. If my existence makes you uncomfortable it is by design. If you don't want to read my content that's okay. If you don't want to listen to my message that's okay. I have blue hair, I'm tattooed, I'm opinionated, I'm loud, I'm Black AF, I'm hella queer, I snort when I laugh, I'm a wild feminist. However, I do not do this work to gain popularity or coddle anyone's guilt. I am often told that if I change my tone that more people will "like" me.
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