Learn to Love Who you are Now

2020 has been a beast and trial of a year. We were supposed to be setting goals, getting gym memberships, and so on. Well, the idea of loving yourself now even in the midst of chaos or setbacks is not crazy or strange. It is absolutely essential. In the society of the United States, as well as other places around the world, we pride ourselves on striving towards the next milestone or goal. While this is not a bad thing, it can become unhealthy and damaging when left unchecked.

I for one am well aware that I struggle with this notion. There are plenty of things that I could list, like the book I’m currently revising, my desires to rebrand my website, worrying about paying back student loans now that I’ve graduated from college. However, one thing I can pick out as an issue is loving my hair as it is right now. One of the things that I would love to do is two strand twists on my natural hair and for them to look moisturized and thick. However, my type 4 hair is super dry, so it’s hard to make my twists look juicy. On top of that, my twists are thin. I would love for my natural hair to look as thick as the crochet bundles you get in the store, but that’s just not my hair right now and maybe it won’t be, but that’s still ok.

I should love my hair as it is RIGHT NOW and where it shines RIGHT NOW. For instance, a bantu-knot out is one of the best looks that my hair can pull off along with a good ol’ puff. I love how my hair looks when I style it like that, so I’m going to love my hair like that and I’m going to love it right now.

Another thing I’m going to love right now is who I am on this writing journey. I can tell you that I’m constantly questioning how well I’m conveying my story, especially now that I’m in the revision phase marking up my manuscript with track changes.

If we’re always chasing fuller hair, the next career move, setting up the next deadline, or whatever it is, you will lose the magic of experiencing this moment and who you are right now, so I encourage you to love yourself as you are right now.