Why Girl Be You?
I can remember as early as first grade being teased mostly for being a bit quirky girl who wore glasses. Growing up there was no Warby Parker or Zenni the best we had was…Lens Crafters. Who at that time had thee most horrific selection of glasses. Imagine me trying to pick out a pair that were at least cute…never happened. My elementary and junior high years were the highest moments of being a nerd with my nose in a book. Even my church community at my father’s church had me feeling very much the odd girl out. I wasn’t popular I was an average student with crippling low self esteem, self- confidence seemed no where in sight for a little black girl like me.
High school years brought about the typically teenaged concerns; high school crushes, navigating my awkward stages, figuring out who I was all while walking through some difficult moments of racial tension. After attending an all girl school to transfer to an all white school lacking much diversity made for the most challenging times. As I was learning to embrace and love my blackness in a space where my blackness was often overlooked being left to feel like an exhibits. So many requests to touch my hair, if our family home was an apartment or a house, questions of what we ate at home for dinner, my reply always was, “seasoned food Becky, thanks!.” Although my view was clouded a bit seeing my classmates live in wealth gathered from generations prior. One day at a time I was gaining the confidence I needed to see how dope I really was.
College brought about a whole new discovery of who I was. I learned from mistakes, encountered new friends, lessons were rich and the experience was most definitely life changing. I begin to learn to embrace me from my quirkiness, my sense of humor, my ability to see challenges, face it, overcome it. It was in college I realized my resilience is what carried me through some of the darkest of times. It was during my college and post college years that my value went from gaining the attention of others to seeing my worth through God’s eyes. His love for me allowed me to pivot in him being my true foundation and strength.
Corporate America taught me such rich lessons of seeing my value, beginning to piece together the events in my life that led me to have a dream bigger than what I was doing at the office job. It lead me to really reevaluate my personal journey.
During this time I begin to ask myself what legacy do I want to leave? How do I want to make an impact? After a few months of working for a non-profit at the time feeling like I was inadequate, not worthy of the position I held, feeling really low. I heard God whisper to me, “Girl Be You!”
The words became as a light to my life. I realized in that moment those three words were not only for me in my adulthood but it was what I needed to hear all my life. I knew this was the message I needed to share with the world. Much of my life was spent attempting to fit the expectations of others. I was comparing myself to them. THEY were an ever changing image, THEY changed every time I went into a new space. I had been chasing down the idea of someone I was never intended to be.
I believe in my heart God gave me those words, Girl Be You to echo in my heart to remind me that’s all I need to be is me. I wanted everyone feel that encouragement, have that light within when they heard those words spoken.
Girl Be You is a way to remind myself in those moments that you am enough. Live from a place of awareness, love, reflection. It’s a reminder to smile from your heart, dream big. It’s a reminder to never ever compare yourself again to someone you know or don’t know.
I created Girl Be You for all the little girls within all of us who at some point believed in our dreams. Girl Be You is for the little girl who was fun-loving, smiling from her heart, dreaming big, daydreaming about what her life would like when she grew up. While we are on this journey we called life we must remember to be honest with yourself, embrace your lessons and losses and love who you are. I created Girl Be You so you can whisper those words to yourself when you feel you aren’t enough. Girl Be You!
Girl Be You is a place of love, inspiration and encouragement to continuously BE YOU and not someone else. It is my heart’s desire for each woman who passes by, stops and reads that her heart will be inspired to embrace her full self, flaws and all!