We Learned to Love Ourselves

By: Monica, Tanesha, Shaneka, Rasheeda, Tyra, Andrea, Rachel

How did we learn to love ourselves

when we had so many flaws?

We loved ourselves when it was no longer about

what she said

or what he wanted.

We fell in love with ourselves when

we appreciated the feeling of love,

cherished the ones who cared,

and noticed only we know ourselves the best.

We thanked God for what She gave us,

and knew we were fortunate

to have all five of our senses.

We fell in love with ourselves.

We loved ourselves when our confidence was high

and we loved the compliments we received

and the things that got us down

couldn’t stop us from being on our way.

We learned to love ourselves

when we prepared for our day

by arranging our thoughts instead of our clothes

when we stopped wearing push-up bra shirts

and too tight pants just to get a job or a man.

Actually, we love ourselves because

we stopped needing men in our lives

and we knew that we were more than just

a body to be given away

and the people who loved us

really truly loved us for us,

so we didn’t have to care

how we looked when we

came out to get the mail or take out the trash.

We could look in the mirror and see strength

instead of thick thighs.

We learned to love ourselves because

our flaws are lovely,

and they only constitute 1%

of who we are anyway,

so we could kiss our flaws goodbye