QOTW!

(Question Of The Week)


Sometimes you just need to appreciate yourself for all that you are inside AND out.   Self love is most important because it reflects how well you treat others.  If we feel good about ourselves, only then are we able to open heartedly accept others. There are enough critiques out there, for both women and men and we must not be one of them for ourselves.  Were always plagued about how a 'perfect' woman should be like, thin, tall, pretty,young etc. and how a 'perfect' man should be, tall, handsome,nice body, no bald spots, etc.  We need to let go of those stereotypes because no one is perfect nor will they ever be. There is always one flaw we can point out in ourselves only because of this "image" that society creates and our need to meet it. 


Give yourself a break! There is no need to please anyone but yourself. Get comfortable with WHO you are as a person. Set goals for yourself that you must meet in order to feel achievement. Lose a couple of pounds to maintain a healthy weight, NOT because people tell you that you need to lose it.   Do something nice for yourself, its ok to give yourself a treat whatever it may be.  Be kind to others and to yourself. Take responsibility of YOUR life, don't let others take it for you. You are more than capable enough to do so =) 


It seems a bit hypocritical of me to write this, because I judge myself a lot as well. BUT I thought i'd share my personal goals perhaps for some encouragement (for myself and YOU).  I always put others before me and I am conscious about what other people think (certain times, not all). 


What I would like to work on is my weight.  I was never self conscious about my weight, ever. but recently, this is one thing I have been wanting to do for myself. To get to my ideal weight 120lbs!  It would definitely help me love myself more, as well as boost my self esteem up!


How do you 'love yourself' ? I'd love to hear what you do to look/feel good about yourself. OR what your goals are to do so.

QOTW!

(Question Of The Week)


I'm sure we've all heard about Trayvon Martin's killing, which is absolutely horrible. It just makes me extremely upset because this could be any of us, from any racial stereotype. Whether you are Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, Middle eastern, , etc  there will always be people who are too ignorant, racist towards you. It's totally wrong to judge someone like George Zimmerman did with Trayvon, just because of his appearance. and yea we all might say, "oh I know that, or believe that" but what are we really doing to change that perspective? What are we teaching the younger generations to come? Are we standing up for it when we see it? Most likely not. and I am definitely not implying that I'm perfect in that sense either. But what I do know is that I have a clean heart towards anyone, regardless of what racial background they come from. When I get into arguments with a specific person associated with that background, I never judge everyone else as the same. I do stand up for things when I see it, and would never ever teach my future kids to think a certain way about a race.  I've been contemplating writing about the topic of racism/hatred for a while now, but I have so much to say about it, and just didn't know where to start.
Being a Muslim woman, I've experienced plenty of racism towards me as well, no doubt. I still remember how differently I was treated since DAY ONE of when I started to wear my Hijab, which was about 2-3 years ago. I remember how everyone looked at me differently while riding the train, or while walking down the street, especially after 9/11.  I've had several racial phrases thrown at me, "terrorist", "go back to your own country", "go hide your face somewhere" "go home and be abused by your husband" blah blah the list goes on! My family members get treated like this as well, when going to hospitals for example not only once but twice, being seated while everyone in the whole waiting area got called-seen-and went home (regardless of whether they arrived before or after my parents) and my parents still sat there waiting! I could go on forever and give one example after another. 
My point is, there will always be someone who will treat you negatively because of your race, but you can't let that get to you  or try and take revenge for it. If there is change within yourself, of our views towards other races, only then will there be changes in the rest of the world.  It all starts with one individual who then influences those around them by his/her actions.


My question to you is, what experiences have you had with racism? and if there was one thing that you would want everyone to know about this, what would it be?