We've all heard the infamous quote, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade”; however, when life handed you lemons, have you ever wanted to throw them away and pout like a child until you got what you wanted? In the waiting game, that seems so much better and fulfilling, but it isn’t. It can’t be and won’t always be the answer or solution to life’s toughest problems.

We all have regrets, and one regret I had was forgoing that dream out of fear. Fear of the financials and fear that choosing to pursue a career in fashion design wouldn’t be acceptable to the sacrifices my parents had made.

Whoever said being skinny or losing a lot of weight makes you automatically healthy or beautiful was dumb. That isn’t always true.

It All Begins Here

…The schema that represented the relationship between femininity and black women was limiting and constraining. I thought that I could only live as one of two things: docile or combative. Both of these extremes were perpetuating a narrative that too much of anything was not a good thing. 

I was living my life afraid to acknowledge the attributes of feminism and femininity that made me, me. And it was that fear that often tempted me to hide when I wasn't living up to the standards I was raised to live by. Was it okay to have the feelings I had, to desire to be loved, shown affection, to dress how I wanted, wear what I felt good, shoot, sexy in, and somehow still represent Jesus?