Month: March 2023

Saweetie

Posted on by Kendra

SAWEETIE

“Last year was the year that I finally became comfortable in my own skin. I kind of figured out what my purpose was. I think it’s important to show little black and brown girls that they can be successful in whatever they want to do. If I can do it, you can do it too. I won’t act like there isn’t a certain type of power that comes with people admiring your face. But that’s not something that gets me off. I like being Female Athlete of the year. I like getting 4.0s for a straight year. I like knowing that I create my own treatments. I like knowing that I donated $150,000 to Black Lives Matter.” Cosmopolitan 

Queen Latifah

Posted on by Kendra

QUEEN LATIFAH

“Life has valleys and peaks, and so many things are always challenging. But I’m always working towards becoming a better me. As you hit puberty, people start looking at you in a different way. And people can be mean. I dealt with all of that. I said, ‘Dana you’re either going to hate yourself or you’re going to love yourself.’ And I decided at that moment I’m going to love myself.” People Magazine

Lidya Jewett

Posted on by Kendra

LIDYA JEWETT

“Being adopted makes me welcoming and inclusive to everyone regardless of their family structure. I don’t think anyone else gets to define what a ‘correct’ family looks like. The correct family is the one where there is love. safety, and encouragement and where you are allowed to be who you are meant to be.” GL

Sara Ramirez

Posted on by Kendra

SARA RAMIREZ

“I was born to a dark-brown Mexican father and a white Mexican Irish American mother. There was so much xenophobia that I internalized. I thought, ‘I’m not white, and that’s bad.’ I grew up with a lot of shame, and that creates confusion around your identity and worth. I was assigned female at birth, so I grew up under these conditions to wear my hair a certain way or dress a certain way, things that felt really rigid and not right for my body. What I ended up doing was trying to constantly perform as a woman. It felt like a question of survival. Being nonbinary isn’t about being married to one hairdo or a way of dressing. It doesn’t mean I don’t ever like wearing makeup or wearing my hair long. It has more to do with understanding of your gender as being on a spectrum. A lot of times you don’t feel male or female, other times you feel like both, and other times you feel like neither. I’ve learned to befriend my feelings instead of running away from them. I’ve learned to dance with change. I can embrace all of who I am. I finally feel free.” People Magazine

Sofia Wylie

Posted on by Kendra

SOFIA WYLIE

“I constantly struggle with doubts and insecurities, like any teenager. It takes practice every day to overcome those things. Practically everybody I knew as a kid all of my friends, all the adults around me had straight hair. That was difficult, having big curly hair and not wanting to be ‘different.’ I wanted to belong. Looking back now, I wish I could put my hands on young Sofia’s shoulders and tell her that her hair is such a big part of who she is and that to lose it would be so sad. Now, I love my curls. They make me unique, and I would never change them for the world. But, at the time, no one could tell me different. Eventually that confident person I was pretending to be when I was performing became the person I truly was. But it took time. It’s taken a lot of mental repetition. Telling myself that I’m enough, and to not have fear. I still have anxiety that I’m not good enough. That I’m not ready for this big life. But we’re all on our own path, and everyone is going to shine at their own pace. Knowing that I’m doing everything I can to grow and continue to live this passion of mine, that’s really what gives me confidence.” GL

Ruth Righi

Posted on by Kendra

RUTH RIGHI

“I’ve had to deal with microaggressions my whole life and it’s time more young people talked about this issue. Because of my race, I’ve had people make some uncomfortable comments. They’re not always blatantly offensive, but they just make me feel less than. I wish I’d spoken up then about how those comments made me feel, and I want to empower more people to do that today.” GL

Alicia Keys

Posted on by Kendra

ALICIA KEYS

“In my creative process, I always start very insecure. I’m like, is this right? How is this landing? Do I feel good about this? I have to live in that insecurity for a bit, and then, as time progresses, I get more confident. And I’m like, you know what? I love this. Then I start to feel more swaggy and confident. Once your soul is cared for, you become everything you need to be. And you can spread that as far and wide as you want to.” ALLURE

Camila Mendes

Posted on by Kendra

CAMILA MENDES

“I’ve learned that positive people attract positive people, and if you’re happy with yourself, you become a better person who’s able to live a truthful, authentic life. It requires a lot of patience to deal with hate online. At the end of the day, if people are going on social media to spread hate, then I don’t respect them. So why would I care what they say about me? I knew I wasn’t taking care of myself, and that would have me feeling insecure. Now I don’t have the same anxiety I used to about food and my body. And I’m not putting all my self-worth in my appearance. There’s so much more to life than that.” InSTYLE