The first moment I read “Milk and Honey,” it tore through my analytical mind and delved deep into my soul, slaying all emotions, desires, and fears. Despite the fact that poetry has never really been my strong suit, Rupi Kaur’s head-turning and heart-wrenching collection of poetry and prose forced me to get in touch with any and all emotions I have. A vulnerable narration about survival, “Milk and Honey” is a source of empowerment for girls of all ages. She highlights love and loss, femininity, and trauma: taboo subjects that society typically steers clear from. In utmost eloquence, she touches on the all-too-familiar feelings of being loved, broken, and stronger on one’s own. Rupi Kaur takes readers through the most dark and bitter matters of the heart and guides them to find hope and sweetness, allowing them to marinate in their feelings and better understand life. If that isn’t reason enough to read “Milk and Honey,” here is a list of five reasons why you should:
You will learn to accept yourself
Self-acceptance is something everyone has struggled with at some point in his or her life. We are our biggest critics and tend to second guess ourselves. Kaur stresses that the key to happiness and a good life is to love yourself for who you are, flaws and all.
You will understand the importance of self-love
True happiness cannot be achieved without falling in love with yourself first. Kaur highlights the importance of self-love in going about life and pursuing your dreams. She urges us to love ourselves in our most raw and natural forms and helps us understand that there is nothing more beautiful in this world than yourself, both inside and out.
You will understand that you are and always have been enough
In our lives, we are often convinced by the world that we are not enough. Kaur addresses the fact that we have all had everything and been enough since day one. We have just been repeatedly told that we aren’t, so much to a point where we have even convinced ourselves and continue to do so on a daily basis. There is nothing and no one in this world that you are not good enough for. Once you’ve wrapped your mind around this concept, you can begin to reconstruct your self-confidence and begin to love yourself even more.
You will learn that love isn’t meant to be easy
Nothing worth having in life comes easy. With that being said, a love that is worth having, whether romantic or not, will come with both triumphs and tragedies. Don’t let it dishearten you, because the hardship is worth the end result. Kaur states that there is no love more powerful than that of falling in love with someone after you’ve fallen in love with yourself, because together you both can set the world on fire. Finding this love won’t be easy, but once you’ve
You will learn that there is nothing you can’t get through
Life can sometimes blindside us and hit us with curve balls we never saw coming, and often times, it’s really unfair. As humans, we may tend to drown in our sorrows and tell ourselves that there’s nothing we can do to get over whatever travesty occurred. This is where Kaur tells us that we’re wrong. There is nothing stronger than the human heart that has been shattered over and over and continues to rebuild itself and our minds that never cease to fight for another day of survival in this world. There is nothing stronger than this, and upon realizing how much we are capable of, sky's the limit.
