More Than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are (No Matter What They Say)

by Elaine Welteroth

I hope you are reminded that it is the very things you underestimate about yourself that will help you create your own magic.

I learned that day just how sensitive young girls are to messages that tell you what to believe about yourself. I saw how we absorb other people’s opinions about our bodies like a sponge sops up red wine after a spill. These early messages can tarnish the way we see ourselves and translate into limiting beliefs that stay with us for a lifetime.

I was irked by the long-standing trend of Black men pursuing women with lighter skin. In a world that innately upholds White supremacy, this was not some random phenomenon; it was a symptom of conditioning. We were all conditioned to believe that lighter skin and straighter, longer hair was superior.

I dozed back off feeling immensely lucky—yes, to have a shot at this magazine job, but even luckier to have a mother like mine.

a truly confident leader stands in her power without using it to make others feel small. She ran the show with integrity, grace, kindness, and class.

Whenever friends or family felt the need to fling their fear onto my future, I would just tell them, “This is between me and God.”

There is nothing stronger than a broken woman who has rebuilt herself.

What I know now is that when we derive our worth from the relationships in our lives—the intimate ones, the social circles we belong to, the companies we work for—we give away our power and become dependent upon external validation. When that is taken away, our sense of value, and identity, goes with it.

Auntie Oprah says our only obligation is to listen for life’s whispers. And when you don’t listen to the whisper, it becomes a roar.