I Am Enough: Genevieve
Meet Genevieve
#IAMENOUGH
PROVERBS 31:30 NLT “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised”
Three words/phrases that have hurt me:
- “At least you’re pretty”-when I would face a letdown, not achieve a goal, or say/do something seemingly stupid, it wasn’t uncommon for me to hear “at least you’re pretty”. Being pretty was supposed to be a consolation prize for lacking substance in another area. But what am I supposed to do when beauty fades? Feeling pretty on the outside and having nothing on the inside…I was a whitewashed tomb.
- “You’re just like your mother”- my biological mother is a woman who uses her charm and beauty to get what she thinks she wants at the time with NO regard to how it may affect her family, friends and those around her. If meant breaking spirits, destroying marriages, leaving her children, so be it. Being compared to a woman of that character broke me down. When those words were spoken to me it was always spoke in such disappointment and disgust that I would want to die. I didn’t want to have kids because I was afraid I’d turn out like her. I often wondered if her character was genetic or in some other way unavoidable.
- “I bet she thinks she’s all that because she’s light skinned”- Since the parents who raised me were both Black, I identified more with that side of me. Going to a mostly black high school was an eye opener. I would get accused of swinging my pony tail on purpose when I ran track, so I cut my hair. I “talked white”, so I spent hours listening to rap and hip hop, learning how to rap and cuss in hopes that I would sound more like “my people”. I would sit out in the sun or in tanning beds for hours in hopes to be brown instead of yellow. Even my ex-mother in law accused me of being bougie and a gold-digger because well “you know how those light skinned women are.”
In a culture where being light skinned is praised and beauty is coveted, I’ve always felt like those were two things that always held me back. Growing up, it was always a struggle trying to fit in and be accepted with both sides of my culture. I never felt Black enough or Filipino enough. It was a never-ending battle trying to get people to look past my flesh and into my spirit. In school, I work myself to death making good grades in school, working part time jobs, participating in band and other groups, and being all state in sports all the while trying to act like I didn’t care or that I struggled so that I could fit in. I joined the military to prove that I was tough and more than just a pretty face. In my career, I had to always be promoting and achieving in male dominated areas so that I would be taken serious. In relationships, I would love fast and hard; cooking, cleaning, being a ride or die, giving myself away hoping that I would appeal to more than just a man’s flesh. Needless to say my efforts were mostly in vain, pun intended.
It has taken me almost 30 years to realize I am enough! God made me in His image. If people chose to only see my flesh, judge me because of my flesh, or hate me because of my flesh it is a problem with them, not me. I don’t have to feed their flesh.
I Am Enough: Bre
Beautiful Bre
What is your flaw? My Scars
What phrases have hurt you?
1. Ugly
2. Useless
3. Nobody
4. Unloved
5. Burnt
6. Legoless
Encouragement to other: My mom always said, "When people say things about you, you have to turn it around and prove them wrong. Can't never could."
After out session, I received this message from Bre and It made my heart melt! "This photoshoot means a lot to me. Certain people see me for a girl or mom that is burned and in a chair. People always say Bre u need to do this and that. And i often wonder am i enough. Today i learned that I am enough :)"
I Am Enough: Raquila-D'nai
Radiant Raquila-D'nai
Who and what you see is not the complete story of me. You see long hair, big smiles, along with a shoe and bag game that can be spotted for miles. Here's what you don't know: I've had issues with my "light" skin for as long as I can remember. Both of my parents are black and yes, I grew up in predominantly white schools and neighborhoods so I talk differently too BUT my outside doesn't define me. I'm not a snob or stuck up, I'm me. I play a lot of roles: wife, mother, sister and friend to name a few but they don't detract from my personal goals. The hats I wear, they don't answer the question of who. Who is she inside, what does she believe, what does she dream? Those are the questions that lead you to understand the deeper me the world can't see. I have a raw past as many others do. Yet I've chosen to abandon her and move forward in Christ. This transition is not always so happy nice, but I trust it will be eternally worth all I have to bare. One thing for sure and two for certain I'm not tough, maybe slightly rough around the edges but know that I AM ENOUGH!
I Am Enough: Deunaka
Determined Deunaka
I've struggle all my life with my weight issues from the age of 8 years till now. My struggle with weight has been compounded by a society that sees the obese as something akin to lepers. We’re viewed as hideous, stupid, ignorant, loathsome and worst of all, worthless. For the first time in years I looked at myself in the mirror and saw a person not just a huge mound of flesh, but a real woman who's beauty is unseen by the actual eyes of society .A flower doesn't worry about the flowers next to it; it just blooms! As women we are always comparing ourselves, sometimes despite our best efforts, and it's hard to remember our own inner and outer beauty when presented with what seems to be a more beautiful, more attractive woman next to us, but alas she may be thinking the same thing about us.
Everyone has bad days but becoming a permanent Debbie Downer should never be in the cards. If you hate it then change it...if not take some of that time and spend it learning to love yourself even your flaws. Barbie isn't
real and perfect people don't exist...
I am an obese woman. I love my body but I also value my health. I am not delusional about what i need to do to remain healthy and fit but I ALSO know that i can be a fat girl AND be healthy. That is my goal, that is what I'm work on. But I will not betray my body image based off of society. ((Loving the skin I'm in with my confidence through the roof)). With my thunder thighs, hail damage/cellulite,kangaroo pouch tummy , back roll's and stretch marks that created a masterpiece that God had a vision for..
I Am Enough: Jeralyn
Jolly Jeralyn
When I was in seventh grade, an older boy, who rode my bus, started teasing me about being "fat." Now, all my life, I have been heavy, but, up to that point, no one had said anything mean about it. As with all seventh grade girls, my opinion of myself came from others, so his words went straight to heart.
For several years after that, I defined myself as "fat girl." I hated my body. In high school, I even went as far as to eat nothing but saltine crackers and drink sprite. This made me so sick that I ended up with an infection in my stomach. But I lost weight.
Then, I went to college, and I realized that no one there cared about my size. So I ate what I wanted to eat and didn't think a second thought about my weight.
I met the man I would marry my freshman year of college, and he really didn't care about my weight. He still doesn't. After we got married, I still had my doubts about myself. To this day, I do, but, to this day, he affirms me. He lifts me up, calls me beautiful.
I've recently decided to lose weight, but not for anyone but me. I want to be healthy. I want to live to see my future children graduate high school, college, have babies, live life. I'm changing myself for myself. I love my life now and I love my body because, after all these years, I've come to the realization that I AM enough
Hello, Friend!
