Letters to Our Daughters: Your pain does not define you
Dear Girls,
As a teen I kept a lot in, not wanting to disrupt or disappoint the family, and it turned into anger that wasn't dealt with. The interesting thing is I didn't even know I was angry. I thought I could handle the shouldering the secret of my abuse. I was blowing up at people and I wasn't communicating out of fear.
I remember telling myself so many stories and playing out in my head so many scenarios that simply weren't true. I am so proud of my younger self for giving myself permission to be vulnerable enough to share my story of finding Shekina, that it may awaken in some young woman or girl reading this that you are worthy and you are valid.
It took me a long time to get this but you are so much more that what you have been through. Your pain does not define you. Your looks do not define you. Your past does not define you. Your tenacity in the face of pain is what defines you.
I learned along the way that when you are called to greatness you can't hang around "just anybody."
Being around strong women and women of wisdom kept me accountable for being great despite my pain. They reminded me that all "the great ones" have thorns in their side; those things that keep us humble. They don't stop us, they propel us. Why? We heal ourselves through healing others. I've been trailblazing ever since. I call it fierce living.
Today I am an award-winning youth and women's activist. I educate and train girls on the value of positive body image, self-worth and leadership. I am the Founder of B2F Girls! & the Tween Star Awards and I am CEO of MXMedia but my most important roles are mother, wife, mentor, daughter, aunt, sister and friend.
Always know your worth because we are counting on you to do big things!
xoxo,
Shekina
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ABOUT Letters to our Daughters
Letters to Our Daughters is a B2F Girls! campaign that aspires to empower girls with the courage to overcome obstacles and follow their dreams as they learn from women who have overcome many challenges and have positioned themselves to live a fierce life. We hope that the stories will be healing and empowering for both the writer and the reader.
ABOUT B2F Girls!
B2F Girls! is on a mission to equip girls nationally with healthy self-esteem so that they can be the best version of themselves. When this happens, everyone benefits. B2F Girls! offers a robust certification program and training intensive, complete with resources, implementation guides and support for women who have a calling to mentor girls. We also produce national female empowerment events.
OUR HISTORY
B2F Girls! initially started as an organization called Tween Style Power that offered free local workshops for girls ages 10-17 that addressed the areas of self-worth, body image and leadership. After our first successful year of implementation, we began to notice we were receiving an influx of women from various parts of the country asking how they could implement a similar program for the girls in their communities. It was then that we recognized a gap that required a systematic and accessible way of providing the training we were already offering. This made way for the launch of B2F Girls!
