Posts tagged motivation

“If you wrote a love letter to you, what would you say?”

In 150 words, I was able to get friends of mine to write a love letter to themselves along with my very own personal love letter. This exercise was to intrigue thoughts of how the perception of yourself. So, take a look, and if you want, add your own in the comments below

Dear K

I’m grateful for your presence. You face is the first thing I see in the morning and the last at night. Your flaws make you perfect in my eyes because I know that there is only one you. You were created to flood this world with your open heart and love. I know sometimes life can get scary but know that God is always there to walk you through your trails. He is your creator so therefore he knows His work. You are a master piece. Let faith lead and guide you for you were created to do great things. 

My love for you grows with every passing second. You are the love of my life. I promise to protect you, guide you, and understand you. I will always be honest with you no matter how much it hurts. True love is always honest and you’d be nothing less than what’s true. With the help of God I will stay true to my words and continue to put your first and love you best.

Sincerely,

 K

Dear Me,

God has blessed you with 40 years on this earth, good health, 3 beautiful children and a faithful and devoted husband. You’ve been given these things because you are meant to have them. It’s no accident.

Your cocoa brown skin still has a youthful smoothness and glow even under the pressures of motherhood, marriage, and work. Even though you’ve packed on some pounds over the years, you’ve also added confidence, wisdom and maturity which give you “grown woman” sexiness.

You are a baaaad sistah! Own it!

Love,
Me

Dear Lovely,

You are truly magnificent and it’s sad how you fail to see it sometimes. Baby, we’re in this together. No matter where you go I will always be there (literally). If only some people had the traits you have than this world JUST might be a better place. My love for you is profound and I’m not too sure how I can convey my words to you so you’re able to understand. There may be some fighting, some anger and even mean things said but it’s human nature. Don’t you ever lose yourself nor lose sight of your goals in life. God has big plans for the both of us. Let’s go live this thing called life together.

The One Who Will Always Be There,
Your Self Conscious

Dear Me,
 
I Love You; Mind, Body, and Soul. I would like to express to you the significance you have in the creation of me. Without you I wouldn’t be the woman I am today, nor the woman I shall be tomorrow. I’ll always have faith in you wholly because you have faith in us.

You Are So Beautiful: Mind, Body, and Soul. You looked beyond my imperfections and helped me to see the beauty in myself. I have confidence because you taught me that if I don’t love myself, who will? You showed me why they should, how I could, love me for me. My devotion to you is forever indebted.
I won’t ever leave you, because despite our trials and tribulations, you wouldn’t give up… Not even when I felt you slipping. Stand firm baby, for you and I. What’s another lifetime? We’ve survived all this time.

I Love You & You Are So Beautiful: Mind, Body, and Soul. Always & Forever. XOXO

”Life is what you make it…”

”Everything happens for a reason…”

” When life gives you lemons…”

We’ve all heard the sayings, whether they’ve come from a parent, friend or colleague, our lives are not unfamiliar of these quotes. Sometimes we find them very hard to believe as well, depending on our mood at the time being. BUT, right now, I want to talk to those who are struggling, who feel like there is no hope anymore in trying, or feel like it is just time to give up. We have all been there. I’ve been there, and I expect to be in that position again. It’s a stage of life we all go through. It’s a stage of life we MUST go through in order for us to define who we are, and build our character. We have all been let down, beaten, hurt, or felt alone; but, I’m here to tell you, you aren’t alone. Someone else right now is hurting; just like you are. Some one else right now is crying because it all seems too hard; just like you are. Someone else right now is EVEN in a worse off position than you. My point is, we have all been there. We have all felt broken, but we still live on…

We all have our own struggles, our own stories, our own fights and even our own scars. Our scars from the past or present struggle make us who we are. We should see all of our scars as beautiful. A scar doesnt form on the dying, a scar means you survived.

The most beautiful people are those who have been scarred, flawed or imperfect, and I’m not just saying this because of my personal appearance, but more so because it is an actual fact.  The most beautiful people are those who have known defeat, known struggle, known pain, known loss & have found their way out of the depths.People talk about depression as though it is something weak; but, coming out of it, on the other side, alive, is stronger than anything that those naysayers will ever do. No matter how tough life may seem, or how hard life knocks you down, you have the ability, and the strength that will never allow you to stay down. All it takes is a little faith, and belief in oneself. We are all strong than we think we are, we just have to realize and understand that beautiful people do not just happen… we’re crafted.

Sometimes you just got to grip life by the horns, shake it up a bit, and scream… YOU… WILL NEVER… BREAK ME…

Too often we give up before we even start, and other times we give up just before we are about to make that break-through all because of what we’re going through; even if we’ve been putting in more than enough effort to achieve. As I know most people nowadays stress over money as the world is in economic turmoil, but don’t stress just think of Chris Gardner. If you don’t know who Chris Gardner is by name, then more than likely you may be familiar with his role in the movie “The Pursuit of Happiness.” It is based on the life story of Chris Gardener, a man who went from the lowest, living in bathroom stalls to becoming a millionaire with his own investment firm. I’m not saying we are all going to become overnight millionaires, even though we all wish to be, but what I am saying is that we shouldn’t just give up no matter how hard it may be. Sometimes we just have to let life play out like an 8 track cassette and feel the music… or simply learn how to create our own…

Coach Steph once said, ”Everything you manifest in life begins with your thinking.”  There is no need to waste time looking back on what you’ve lost; look at what you’ve gained.  Life is not meant to be traveled backwards; be in the present, and look forward to the future. If you keep believing, keep reaching, keep dreaming, you’ll get there; you just got to have faith in yourself.

So, in closing, if life hands you lemons, be grateful you received something…

Daily Affirmations

Who I am doesn’t allow me to give up

I don’t fear life because of what I’ve been through… I embrace it and the person it made me

My emptiness is filled immediately

I release the need to whine, moan, or fuss about how hard life is… I am not a victim

I am stronger than my struggle

My persistence helps push me past barriers

Obstacles and my resistance disappear TODAY

Miracles appear every day before our eyes; we have just become blind from seeing them. When we learn to awaken our minds and open our eyes, we’ll see that miracles or blessings are never really in disguise.

A few years ago, appearing for tryouts for this fashion show, I met a quiet, petite dark skin female, who quickly became a friend that has yet to leave my side. We go about out lives worrying about financial issues without sitting back, reflecting, and counting the blessings that actually surround us. Melissa is one of those blessings that surrounds me; I am very proud of her, and I tell her quite often how inspirational she is to me. You see, most see my story, my fight as a huge source of strength and inspiration, and it is; but, we all have our own stories, our own fights, and we inspire others through our very own courageous acts each day. I find inspiration through many others, and today I hope that you find some through Melissa.

Published by Jessie Moniz in The Royal Gazette of Bermuda; this is her story…

Bermudian Melissa Looby, 23, was pregnant, but well on her way to a certificate in law from University of Kent Law School when she suddenly went into labour three months early.

Her son Tori Jr (TJ) was born prematurely in Bermuda, and then flown to the Izaak Walton Killam (IWK) Centre at Grace Maternity Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He weighed 2lb 3oz at birth. For his mother, it was naturally hard to focus on studying, and for almost a month she did no studying at all and fell behind.

The Bermuda College has partnered with Kent Law School to offer the LLB Stage I Programme since 1985 as a two-year part-time evening programme leading to a Certificate in Law and Society. The programme is equivalent to one year’s full time study at the first year undergraduate level and is validated by the University of Kent.

“I decided to study law at the end of my associates degree in English Literature in 2009,” said Miss Looby. “A law degree came up and I took a look at that. I had some personal things that happened that led me towards studying law. It just all fell into place. My sister Jennifer, 20, is also studying law. We just decided that this was something we could do, and it would be even better that we could do it together. TJ’s due date was a couple of days after my exams. It would have worked out perfectly in a perfect world.”

It is thought that Miss Looby went into labour early due to urinary tract infections that weakened her membranes. The membranes became very susceptible to ruptures.

“He was active in the womb anyway,” said Miss Looby. “When I went to the hospital and the lady did the examination, she felt his fingers or toes. He had kicked through the membrane and was on his way.”

He was due on May 19 of this year, but instead was born three months earlier on February 15. He had to be resuscitated when he was born and then put on a ventilator, before being sent to Canada for more specialized treatment. There, he was treated for jaundice and also battled infections. Miss Looby’s worse day was probably the day they got a phone call at 4am from the hospital, saying that TJ was having apneas. He would just stop breathing.

“We were just getting used to him being there, and knowing that he was making progress and this was a huge step backwards,” said Miss Looby. “That was the worst night. We had to keep tapping his feet or shaking him, so he would remember to breathe.”

They were in Canada for just over two months.

“It was definitely unexpected,” said Miss Looby. “It was a tough road. We were out there for two months with him and it had its ups and downs. We had to go day by day. Some days were definitely better than others. I didn’t have a choice about studying. I still had two very important assignments to turn in, including an oral presentation and a big written assignment. One was 50 percent of my grade.”

Some days she would have to take her laptop and books and sit beside the baby in the hospital. At first she thought she couldn’t possibly study, while dealing with the crisis. She thought about putting off her exams and doing them in August, but both her mother, sister and boyfriend, Tori Richardson, convinced her otherwise. She ended up sending her assignments to her professor through e-mail, and doing her oral presentation through Skype, an online messaging service.

After she took her final examination, she was sure she had failed, so she was overjoyed when both she and her sister received phone calls saying they had passed the course. Their mother also graduated from the Bermuda College in May. Although the certificate is just one step on the long road to a law degree, the awards ceremony at the Bermuda College was an emotional triumph for her and her family.

“I am not too sure what kind of law I would like to go into, but I think it will be family law,” said Miss Looby.

She still has two years left to finish in order to get her bachelors in law degree, and is currently applying for distance learning programmes, so that she can finish those while her son grows up. Otherwise, she will probably take her son to England next year to finish her degree.

“If we do it that way that will be good too,” she said. “My mother just graduated this year also. So she is looking to get her bachelor’s degree. If we do that, all of us can go together. My mother is majoring in English and would like to come back to Bermuda to teach.”

And TJ seems a chubby, happy, healthy baby who has just learned to smile. His mother said he is definitely a “miracle baby…”