HEY YOUNG GIRL!

Lawd, this week has been one of enlightenment and expansion. I challenged myself to do the unthinkable, and I cannot lie I was nervous as hell about it. I gave birth to my baby, Curvy Girl Reflections & Commentary Newsletter. I worried if it would be well received and if I would offend anyone, but we all have the right to speak our truth. And before I go on any further, I would like to take a moment to share some housekeeping items with you.

First, I would like to say thank you to everyone who gave me the opportunity to share my energy and thoughts with you through this newsletter. You could have been anywhere in the world, but you chose to rock with me for several seconds, minutes, or hours.

Second, this newsletter is a personal endeavor, it's a place where I can reflect and share my misfortunes and successes, a place that I want to make non-judgmental because we are all doing our best to navigate this thing called "life".

Thirdly, if you like what you are reading, I so graciously ask that you pass it forward to give others the chance to know me in a personal manner.

My last request, I ask that you feel free to comment on my posts, that's how we grow together; I learn from you just as well as you learn from me. The only difference is, I am the one whose name is publicly plastered across this forum, but it does not make me any better than you. I don't profess to know everything, I am just a woman, with a little free time on her hands that loves to reflect to become the best version of herself. I hope Curvy Girl Reflections & Commentary lives up to my expectations of creating a space where we can have candid and open conversations about various topics, and if there are things you would like me to comment on in the future, please let me know.

Now that the housekeeping items are out of the way, I would like to segue into the reasoning behind this title, "Hey Young Girl".

I was sitting in my room, contemplating some ideas in my mind about creating a recurring weekly post that talks about things I've learned and what advice I would give to my younger self. This section of the newsletter will give me the opportunity to reexamine some of my past thoughts and the forward progression I have made since then. And if you feel free, I would also like to open the floor to you and give you a chance to express some things you have experienced and learned along the way.

It is my belief that we cannot grow alone, we need a community that will help inspire, teach, support, and motivate up until the time we reach our final destination, and we cease to breathe no more. I did not mean to make that last sentence so morbid, but I hope you are picking up what I am putting down. Growth is a continuous process and I believe God, or whoever you subscribe to, even if you claim no religious or spiritual practices; puts us in contact with specific people at different seasons in our life, so we can mentally expand and glean from them. After the encounter, we walk away with powerful knowledge that can forever change our life, maybe even course correct us from continuing down the wrong road. I am thankful for all the spiritual and religious teachers and leaders who have been placed on my path, they showed me that the environment you were raised in does not have to determine your outcome. And whatever you do, lead with love.

To state my, hey young girl reflection; I learned I am capable and have many talents that I have just begun to skim the surface on. What I would tell my younger self is to relax, and breathe, stop seeking outside validation, and take the time to cultivate gifts and skills that are lying dormant inside of you. I never thought in a million years, I would be writing, no less in a newsletter, but here I am writing and verbally sharing my life stories in the hopes you can relate to me and avoid some of my pitfalls. In the words of the late and great poet and author, Doctor Maya Angelou, "I come as one, but I stand for 10,000". Many thanks to you all for taking the time to support Curvy Girl Reflections & Commentary; I consider you to be like family. And to conclude this section, in the lyrics of the singer Llyod, "Hey young girl, the world is yours".