PSA: Never Forget Your Worth…

In light of the utterly demeaning words spoken by a certain someone recently, I feel it’s my duty as a LOUD AND PROUD WOMAN to counter those lies with a hard-hitting dose of truth. Because truth always trumps hate — pun intended!

And, well, the massive amount of truth in poet Della Hicks-Wilson‘s inspiring words is overflowing. They practically leap off the page, just screaming to be read, heard and understood. They’ve been ignored far too long and are dying to break. It’s all too easy to passively absorb the messages society throws at us every single day — words of expectation, of how women are “supposed” to be, “supposed” to look and “supposed” to live, words of superficial meaning. Maybe most importantly, though, they’re words that serve as a distraction and try to take your attention away from what really matters in life.

But those words? Oh, those are the dangerous ones. Those are the lies that somehow get in our head and prey on every one of our insecurities. They make us question everything we’ve ever thought about ourselves and the very way we view others and the world. I’m always telling Janelle that she needs to stop looking at herself through a fun house mirror — you know, the kind of mirror that twists and distorts everything into all sorts of unrecognizable shapes. It’s a trick and one she, sadly, falls for every single time. I know that it can seem like society throws up one fun house mirror after another as we walk along this path called life, and it’s something I’m constantly fighting to push out of my way — maybe even kick if I’m feeling extra angry that day.

So, what CAN we do, I’ve often wondered? I certainly don’t have it all figured out, but I think it has something to do with celebrating WHO YOU ARE! Stop focusing on those extraneous things that don’t matter. Don’t limit yourself. And dammit, play that ‘woman car’ every chance you get because you’re strong, sexy, smart, brave and so many other things some people will spend the rest of their lives just wishing they could be. Play the card they’re not expecting. After all, that’s pretty beautiful, isn’t it?

Like the words of the poem, our beauty and worth is as infinite as the sky. Infinite as the sky, indeed… xoxo