What are your best qualities?
I like that I take initiative. For a while, I waited for opportunities and change to come to me. I realized waiting around will not get you closer to the best things in life. I wanted to travel more, so I started planning trips. Even if I meant I had to travel by myself. I wanted my blog to excel, so I started teaching myself photography, web design and media marketing. Taking initiative helped me become independent. I am also patient and kind. As a dental hygienist, I come across a lot of stubborn people. I've learned that being calm and collected, even when they're making rude remarks, is the best way to get through to them.
Do you have any undesirable qualities?
I tend to procrastinate. I put things off and before you know there is a large list of things that I need to do. I really need to stop doing that!
What do you love the most about your body?
I love my lips. I love that they're naturally plump and full. I know ladies spend big money to have fillers done and I appreciate that I won't ever need that in my life. I rarely wear lipstick to accentuate them. I throw on some Carmex and I'm good.
What is one part of your body you're working on loving more?
I wished I loved my stomach more. That is where I carry most of my weight and it is the hardest area in my body to keep in shape.
Tell us the story about how you earned your stretch marks…
For as long as I can remember my body has always fluctuated. I started to notice my weight gain when I was 8 years old. My stomach was round for a child my size. Then I started to notice stretch marks in my inner thighs and behind my calves when I was 10. I was teased a lot for my weight during the years of primary school and middle school.
What was your response when you first noticed your stretch marks?
At first I correlated it with growing, but my cousins and parents kept reminding me it was from being obese. I was ashamed. It was a constant reminder of how fat I was.
How did those around you make you feel about them?
My mom was so ashamed and disgusted by my weight gain. She would make comments about how I need to diet and exercise. I remember one day she snatched food right out of my hands and yelled at me. I just broke down crying. My cousins, who were tall and lean, constantly made fun of my weight. No one else in my family was as big as me, so I was an easy target. I remember boys in school making remarks like "Are you still hungry?" during lunch time.
What is one of your qualities you wish shined brighter than exterior appearance?
My sense of adventure. Everyone strives to live a fulfilling or at least thinks about it. I think if they see me trying to live my best life, it will inspire others to do the same.
What about self-love are you continuing to work on?
As a fashion blogger, I try not compare myself to other successful bloggers. Many of these bloggers are tall and skinny, just like a model. They also live an extravagant lifestyle. Many of these women live a lifestyle that I can't resonate with. I try to take advantage of what I can offer to my audience and that is show that I'm curvy, petite, working woman who loves to travel. I think petite and curvy women are a unique demographic because many fashion brands believe that petite women are small all over. But that is completely false. So I try to dress my body in a way that flatters it and hopefully my fellow petite and curvy women will follow suit. When I wear something that makes me feel beautiful or go a trip that feeds my adventurous soul, I am practicing self love..
How do women need to improve interacting with one another?
Women should stop looking at each other as competition and starting looking towards each other to create a community. Community over competition. If you uplift your peers, a community of women will become stronger as a whole.
What lesson do you hope to instill to your children about self-love & body acceptance?
I want my children to understand that beauty comes from within. If someone doesn't appreciate you regardless of the big heart you have, then they don't deserve your time.
What is something you wish you could have told yourself at your most fragile state?
"You're strong, beautiful and have so much to offer."
What is the best compliment you've ever received?
The best compliment I've gotten as of late is from my boyfriend. He'll grab me by the face, stare me deep in the eyes, and tells me I'm beautiful. It makes me melt every time.
