I had (and still have) a pretty good role model growing up — my mom. She is my rock, breathe, and everything in between. She's the reason I am like I am today. Like Jodi Picoult said, "My mother...she is beautiful, softened at the edges and tempered with a spine of steel. I want to grow old and be like her." She sees bits and pieces of her younger self in me every day and I can only hope that I'll see myself, and her, in my daughter — in you.
1. "Her hair is gorgeous and always straight — why can't mine be like that? I hate my hair."
I used to hate my natural hair and I considered putting chemicals back in my hair, but I learned to love my natural "nappy" hair and I'll teach my daughter the same. Her hair is beautiful and makes her who she is.
2. "She's so tall and athletic — I need to get skinnier to be good like her."
I'm short and curvy, so unless your father's genes take over, you'll also be short an curvy — that doesn't make you any less athletic.
3. "He's dating her because she wears makeup — I should wear makeup to be prettier, too."
Do not listen to a boy about what and how a woman should look. He may prefer makeup, but he's not dealing with the acne scars and repercussions of wearing it 24/7.
4. "So-and-so said I need to lose weight to be a cheerleader."
If anybody, especially family members, stops you and tells you that you need to lose weight to do any extracurricular, please tell me and it'll get handled. Negativity is not allowed in our household and won't be tolerated, either.
5. "My measurements aren't perfect — if I lose about 10 inches, I'll be perfect."
There's no such thing as a perfect person, no matter how much I say & think Beyoncé is, she's not. You're not perfect because you're unique and that's all you'll need.
6. "I want to be a model, but they won't accept me because I'm fat."
The model in the magazine doesn't even look like the model in real-life. Anybody can model, no matter their size. If this is a career you'd like to pursue and they won't accept you until you lose 3-inches off the waist and hips, then tell them to kindly screw themselves.
7. "I just want someone to look a me the way he looks at her."
While you're looking at him, someone may be looking at you with so much love in their heart.
8. "I wish I looked like her."
Don't wish to look like the girl on the television or the girl next to you in class. I carried you for nine months and endured pain for however long for a lifetime of happiness with you. You are you and nobody else. There will always be someone better than you, but there will never be another you.
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