You are so beautiful...

Ever had someone tell you you're beautiful, and you shy away, return the compliment, or crack a joke as a way to deflect and remove the attention from yourself? Yeah, me too! When you come from a background where you've experienced rejection, it can sometimes be hard to hear and receive a compliment.

I grew up a timid little girl. I didn't have the light skin or long curly hair. I had a gap between my teeth and long skinny legs. I was too black for some and too "white" for others. My proper vocabulary and educational passions made me a bit of a sore thumb. Despite that, I managed to muster my way through school, date a few handsome guys, and somewhat overcome all of those silly thoughts in my mind that I had allowed to take root.

My college years were definitely golden. Popularity became my friend and for the first time, I was "it." I was amongst persons who looked like me and I finally felt home. I had finally got the confidence I needed to navigate through life, at my own beat.

UNTIL, heartbreak happened. I found myself once again comparing myself to other women. You see what had taken root years prior had found the perfect conditions for growth, and boy where the seeds producing.

For the next few years, I struggled internally with appreciating who I was. I now understand why President Roosevelt said "comparison is the thief of joy." My own insecurities yielded the fruit of jealousy, an extremely rotten fruit. I struggled with understanding what was wrong with me. I allowed my own insecurities to eat away at me, until I was TIRED and FED UP!

Determined to uproot all of that, I decided it was time to become intentional. I purposefully began to encourage my beautiful sisters when I saw them. After a few attempts, I did so with the utmost sincerity and very little effort. I realized it was so much easier to celebrate than it was to hate.

As time passed, the transformation that was happening within me began to manifest outwardly. People began to celebrate me, and boy did it feel "awkward!" You see I had spent so much time building others, that I forgot to build me. I had to learn to look in the mirror and like I what I saw. I had to fall in love with me, flaws and all.

God had to reveal to me the importance of self love! After all, if I couldn't love and see the value in myself, how could I expect others to? So just as I had to master building others, I learned to do the same for myself.

NOW... I don't have to wait for someone to tell me I'm beautiful, I tell it to myself. There are times when I walk past the mirror, and take a second glance, cause bam, baby's got a cute shape. I traded despair for joy and insecurities for self-confidence and I own it! You should too.

The irony of it all, I am still brown skin with kinky hair. I still have a gap between my teeth and long skinny legs. I still speak properly and consider myself to be educated with a BIG heart! See not much changed on the outside. The change happened in me!

If you're reading this and you've struggled to hear how beautiful you are... then do me a favor and begin to compliment yourself. Allow the change to take place on the inside and it will show up outwardly! After all, you have been fearfully and wonderfully... you know the rest... BEAUTIFUL!

May name is Tiffany LaMeia and I am dedicated to becoming a better me, encouraging you to be a better you, and helping you to understand that you are #ENOUGH!

-Have a Prosperous Day!