Calling My Name

by Liara Tamani

You can’t worry about what other people do. You have to do what’s best for you.”

No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself.

Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.

Love is like a virus. It can happen to anybody at any time. —Maya Angelou, The Heart of a Woman

Too bad you’re already that boy, who makes promises of love, but lies, lies, lies to get what he wants, and so easily convinces us we want the same thing. That boy who preys, makes us give, wish, hope, pray, then wait and wait and wait. That boy I hate.

The greatest lie ever told about love is that it sets you free. —Zadie Smith, On Beauty

Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another. —Toni Morrison, Beloved