“It’s all about falling in love with yourself and sharing that love with someone who appreciates you, rather than looking for love to compensate for a self love deficit.”
—
Eartha Kitt
I stumbled upon that quote while on tumblr and it spoke to me. I can relate very much.
You see, I have a tattoo on my rib that is about loving yourself first. I got it during a rough patch in my life a couple years ago. While one aspect of my life was falling apart, another was coming together better than I could have ever imagined … and I think that’s because I finally loved myself 100%. I finally accepted who I was and who I wanted to be. I accepted that I couldn’t be surrounded by others who didn’t fully value me. I would not and could not spend any more time evaluating myself, thinking there was something wrong with me or trying to make others happier than I was.
The truth is sometimes we outgrow “stuff” we once could’ve never imagined life without. We outgrow friendships, relationships, places, people. It doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. Do NOT let others make you question yourself. You know what’s best for you. After all, if you love yourself like you should then you know what you’re worth and who/what is worth your time and love. Keep in your life those who are and be gone with the rest.
It took me many, many, many years to realize and come to grips with this but my golly how much happier I am since I did. Better late than never… right?
Featured on Associated Press as a trailblazing Latina influencer and on Parents as a Latina mom to follow, Jacqueline Hernandez Lewis is a writer and content creator celebrating womanhood, motherhood and humanity. She also works for a NYC nonprofit dedicated to preventing domestic violence and promoting gender justice. Of all her roles, mom and wife are her favorite.
I wrote my post today before reading yours and I just thought it was so ironic. This is so true. It's such a hard thing to do…I wish it were easy and it is a conscious choice you have to make each and every day but there is just nothing more important. There are a few things in my life I could pinpoint as to reasons why it is so hard but the biggest I think for me was when my parents got divorced and everyone had a different idea of how I was "supposed"to react. Ugh…when I left PA and came to Hawaii I finally had some sense knocked into me and some version of that quote just kept going through my head. It's still a challenge that I often face but this was a good reminder for me. I really loved this post and completely relate!
I agree wholeheartedly! In order to truly love another, you should really love yourself first! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I love this! All of it is so true. I finally realized that I had to love myself first and it changed so many things in my life for the better. 🙂
I love this post! It's all so true and so important.
Thank you for sharing!
I wrote my post today before reading yours and I just thought it was so ironic. This is so true. It's such a hard thing to do…I wish it were easy and it is a conscious choice you have to make each and every day but there is just nothing more important. There are a few things in my life I could pinpoint as to reasons why it is so hard but the biggest I think for me was when my parents got divorced and everyone had a different idea of how I was "supposed"to react. Ugh…when I left PA and came to Hawaii I finally had some sense knocked into me and some version of that quote just kept going through my head. It's still a challenge that I often face but this was a good reminder for me. I really loved this post and completely relate!