The Beauty of Loving Yourself

Hey lovebugs! This #BeautyTuesday will not focus on new products that I love. No new eye creams or skin serums. No eyeliner or highlighter reviews. Today, I am introducing a review of  Jazzmyn Blu: who is she? Why do I love her? When did I know that I loved her? and where do I see her developing towards in the future?

So, in the spirit of #TransparentLife I'm gonna be real and raw and uncut: I didn't always love myself.

I wasn't always proud of myself and I still struggle with acknowledging my accomplishments and all that I have done.

I have grown through body image issues and colorism and understanding my light-skin privilege.

I've gained a total of 80 pounds since the passing of my mother and I have always dealt with troubled skin.

I didn't always know that femininity existed on a spectrum, so I was insecure with the femininity that I scraped together in expression and mannerism.

I'm a chronic procrastinator and motivation for me has always been a moving target because I get bored easily.

I stack my plate way too high and I get overwhelmed regularly. 

So with all of these shortcomings and flaws, how can I love myself? What's left to love?

Well. Loving myself didn't come overnight.

It wasn't a simple decision that I just up and made for myself. Loving myself has been difficult, challenging and gut-wrenching.

I've cried, argued with myself, and prayed over and over again to see what G-d saw in me.

I'm not done with my journey yet, but I'm at an intersection where I can see how far I've come and where and who I want to be in the future.

I had to choose myself when I had no other options left. Either let depression and anxiety consume me, or take the hard time to get to know who I am, where I've been, and where I wanted to go. I had to choose to love Jazzmyn Blu or be consumed by my hatred for her.

Here are the many ways that I've grown to love Jazzmyn Blu:

• She's a good friend who listens and does whatever she can to help and support her loved ones
• She's not afraid to try new things
• She gives great hugs
• She loves to cook and is pretty damn good at it
• When she puts her mind to a task, she is impressive and achieves more than she can imagine
• She's a thinker, a dreamer and a fighter
• She's a protector, a provider and a nurturer
• She's her own kind of beautiful and looks like her mother
• She's a writer and a poet 
• Her eyebrows have come a looong way, chile
• She has a unique spiritual relationship with The Eternal that shapes who she is as a person
• She's worthy of love and affection and celebration
• She's focused on progress because perfection doesn't exist 
• She is comfortable in her skin after years of trying to figure herself out
• Her laugh is contagious and she loves seeing other people happy
• She's friggin hilarious and her mind is incredible
• Her smile is amazing
• She's realizing her purpose and what affect she wants to have on the world
• She's aware of the areas in her life that need improvement, and she's bettering herself everyday

This is just the beginning of my love letter to myself. Life becomes so much easier when we stop warring against ourselves. Loving yourself is a radical act of defiance against a society that fuels our consumption of images and goals that simply do not exist. You are the only you there is, and that's beautiful. Loving yourself is more beautiful than any product sale, hair style, or fashion runway. At the end of the day, when its just you alone, who is that person and how do you feel about them? Whether it's through journaling, poetry, counseling, or talking with trusted friends, the journey to self-discovery and self-love is worth the time and effort.  

How do you love you? Share your story with me everywhere @jazzmynblu

The Beauty of Loving Yourself is an original post and appeared first on BYNKradio.com by Jazzmyn Blu