I wrote a very long caption about self love but a phone call interrupted and Erased the caption. But here I go for a round 2... I have never viewed myself as somebody who is good with their words but since my journey has completely changed over the last two years and I am no longer primarily working as a freelance artist, this platform has become about expressing myself and is now more of a “creative journal” so here comes a non hair related post ✨Me and my body have been on a love-hate journey since the beginning of time. I never veiwed my body as what society deemed to be a “feminine figure”. I struggled with being Latina and not having the “right kind” of curves. Working in fashion took my body criticism to a whole new high I didn’t know it could reach..I’ve been in the industry for 13 years and only 4 years ago did I slowly start seeing diversity happen.. there are still hundreds of companies that have hired me to do HMU and I show up knowing that they will never produce clothes or imagery that caters to a plus sized person of color. Trust, I had no issue collecting coins but it still effects your vibration. To combat the insecurity I began taking self portraits in swim suits, or nude.. this radical self love has appeared to place even more judgment on my body. “Too sexy” “wear something less revealing” and other micro aggressions about thinness or your definition of “in shape” or “healthy” I’ve had friends make the choice to get surgeries and body modifications and come back to me and say “I loved myself more when I was bigger” which has also casted a level of fear and anger onto me I never wanted to carry. I have had gym sessions with fit friends who were surprised I got through a work out. People have assumed things about my diet and mental health too much to count. I say all this because who knows what my future will hold. But today I make the choice to balance mind, body and spirit because all three matter. You cannot tell someone’s “health” by what they look like on the outside. And if I can inspire even one person to check in w/themselves, Where ever you are on your journey and chose self love... that’s a win for me. ❤️ Stef