An Ode to Self Love

Ahh, February. The shortest month of the year filled with chocolate hearts lined down store isles, inflation at its finest on lingerie, red lipstick, and valentine cards. But wait, before you jump headfirst into a bed of roses and into relationship mode. What’s your relationship with yourself? Hear me out, the most important and fulfilling relationship you’ll ever have is the one with yourself. And yes, healthy love exists. Remember that, and that it’s within you.

A calendar date in the middle of the month will never have anything on the Self-love we carry every day of the year with the foundation that allows us to be assertive, set boundaries, and create healthy relationships to feel proud of who we are.

It’s a popular misconception that loving ourselves means we have some grandiose complex, we’re vain narcissists, or think we’re above others. On the contrary, we’re just progressively more accepting of ourselves, inside and out, becoming more content and secure with who we are and what we have …not obsessing over ourselves in the name of vanity. Plus, self-loving girls love cheering on other babes in the name of the self-love club, not tearing each other down. Self-absorption vs self-esteem, Big differences here.

Interestingly enough, we beg women to love themselves, to have more self-respect, to stand up for themselves at work and ask for what they need and want but then the world ironically tells confident women to calm down.

Well here I am with the reminder you didn’t ask for but helping to serve all the self-love sauce you may have needed today and always!

Attention: Public self-love service announcement: Girl, talk your shxt! Own the room! And let all others hate on and be uncomfortable. Just turn up everything about you. Your magic, your strength, your voice, your humor, your kindness, your gratitude, and especially turn up your self-love!

With politics, a patriarch, and capitalism consistently devaluing, abusing, underpaying, and suppressing women—especially women of color; when there are multiple industries depending on women never seeing themselves as enough, self-love is practically an act of resistance.

With societal beauty standards predicated on diminishing women and preying on our self-esteem with not being the right weight, the right color, or the right this or that—, it’s almost like a mini protest to love yourself.

That being said, here’s my revolutionary Ode To Self Love.

I love myself, let me count the ways (and not just on February 14th) forever and always.

I love my sensitivity, my intuition, my intelligence, my personality, and my vibrancy. I love that I’m not for everyone. I love that my heart bleeds to be useful, positive, and edifying to the world and I’m unapologetically myself.

Love you.

–Jazzy

K, now your turn.

Because there’s something powerful, beautiful, and contagious about hearing another woman genuinely lift herself up. Truly.

Queue the queens, Nicki Minaj and Beyoncés remix, “Feeling Myself” or whatever jam puts you in the dimension of I’m fine AF mode. Now stay there even after the 3 minutes and 12 seconds of the tune are up. Because not only do I love that for you. Like for real love every bit of a confident, self-loving soul. But a confident, glowed-up woman illuminates life brighter. Her heart beats healthier. And the self-loving life that thrives through the bullshxt, thanks you! Yep, there are levels to this and you’re stepping and owning everyone.

Some people will love you and some people won’t.

Keep Self Loving & Shine on anyway.

May your Ode to Self LOVE be the only L you take this year and always.