10/24/2025
Self-love has been one of the hardest parts of my healing journey.
For as long as I can remember, my relationship with myself has been shaped by how I look on the outside. In 7th grade, I was bullied by my closest friends — people I loved and trusted — until it hurt so much that I switched schools just to get away. But even after I left, their words came with me. They settled into my mind and became my own voice for years.
In high school, that same pattern continued in quieter ways. I was always seen as the “bigger” volleyball player — the one wearing a medium while most of the other girls wore smalls or extra smalls. I can still remember being reminded during off-season to “get into shape,” as if how I looked mattered more than how I played. Those comments built layers of self-doubt that took root deep inside me.
Pregnancy, with both of my children, reignited that inner critic in a way I wasn’t expecting. Watching my body change, stretch, and grow life has been beautiful and raw, but also DEEPLY triggering. Some days I can stand in gratitude for what my body has done… and other days, that old part of me still whispers that I’m not enough.
But what I’ve learned — and keep learning — is that self-love isn’t about silencing that voice overnight. It’s about meeting it with strength and compassion, and choosing to see yourself through the lens of truth instead of comparison. Our bodies have carried us through every moment of this life — through heartbreak, growth, motherhood, and healing — and that deserves to be honored.
To anyone who’s ever felt too big, too small, too different, or not enough — you are none of those things. You are becoming. You are worthy. You are powerful beyond measure. And your beauty was never meant to fit inside someone else’s definition. 💗