Outside the box

Hey everybody,

I know...its been a minute.....ya da, ya da, ya da!!  :)

I remember being in elementary school and a friend of mine had some fly platform shoes (ok....and what? you liked them back in the day too!!) and I wanted to wear them so bad.  I told myself I would only ask her twice because three times would be begging and a fly girl would never beg (grade school logic I still use today).  She told me that I could borrow them not knowing that her foot was at least a half size smaller than mine. I took the shoes home, put those bad boys on and I just knew that I was the flyest of the fly. I mean I was BOSS (as my dad use to say in his Don Cornelius cool way). I set out my clothes for the next day lovin' on my borrowed platforms and my burnt orange Willie Smith outfit (as you can see I don’t mind dating myself...J).

I woke up overly excited about rollin’ in my ensemble. I got dressed, checked myself in the mirror and started on my way. The first block from my house I was chillin', in a little pain but nothing a fly girl couldn't handle – shoot beauty is pain, right? By the fourth block I felt like I was in some medieval torture chamber with laryngitis so I couldn’t scream for help. So you know the walk to school was brutal. When I got there I didn’t even care about the compliments, all I can remember doing was running to the back of the class where I had some slippers hidden that I happily put on and in an instant gave my friend back her platforms with a smile. I told her they didn’t work with my outfit (the color was a little off….yeah right!).

Why do we try to fit ourselves in boxes that we don't belong and why do we fear stepping outside of the box to embrace who we really are? I knew I could not fit those shoes but because everyone would think they were fly I put them on without regard for myself. If I could encourage one girl who like me had self-doubt allowing fear to encapsulate me and keep me in a box, I would say walk in your true self and if that means you have to say no to things that don't impress your spirit or uplift your soul then so be it. Let the true you shine and how awesome a gift that would be to yourself. Oh, yes...you do deserve to gift yourself. SMILE!

I will leave you with this....hurting feet can only take short walks but comfortable feet can take you farther than you could ever imagine.

Lovin' you is easy, just do it!

Take good care,

  

J