In A World Full Of Look At Me Girls, Be A Come With Me Girl
We live in a world crowded with people who crave attention and validation. A line up of girls waiting to do whatever it takes to get picked for the latest reality TV shit-show. Because who cares about dignity and grace, when there’s 10k up for grabs, right?
Posting incessant streams of selfies, in the hopes of having people adore their edited and improved selves. Because you’re only ever the amount of likes, comments, and followers you have, right?
Striving to be the popular girl – the one with the most friends, and the one who always gets the guy she wants, no matter who else he might have his eye on. Because the biggest cheer squad + a hot piece of arm candy = #priorities, right?
We live in a world full of look at me girls. Girls who have totally lost sight of what used to matter to them most. Before the world got in their head. Before those voices crept in their ears. And before they cashed in and let go of their real dreams, for a diluted version of success.
In a world full of girls pleading that you look at them; dare to be different.
Be a girl who invites the world to come with her.
Leave your agenda behind you. You don’t need one. Do things simply because of the joy they bring you, and not for what you might personally gain. And while you’re at it, you can leave behind the picture of the woman you think you need to be in order to be liked. You don’t need to be, do, or say anything that doesn’t stay true to who you are at your centre.
Just be generous with your time and your means, be selfless from your heart with your intentions, and be kind in your actions and your words. Because there isn’t a whole lot else that matters, quite like these things do.
Create something meaningful, and with purpose. Start a movement, help people, invoke real change, exchange your time for something you will be able to look back on in ten years, and still swell with pride at the memory of.
Remember, it is your choice how you spend the rest of your life.
Don’t rely on your body or your looks to take you where you want to go. Trust that your heart and your mind are far more powerful than anything physical. Set an example to anyone who might be watching and admiring you from the side-lines. Strive to be the kind of role model you hope your daughter one day has in her life to look up to. The kind of role model maybe you lacked, and wished you had.
Realise you are so much stronger when you stand together with other women, lifting each other up. Don’t try to compete. You are in your own competition, and it’s a competition for one. Lead from the front, and extend your hands to bring others along with you on this shared journey. Because what this world needs is more girls who genuinely want to link arms, and take it on together.
Praise for Bloom by Shani Jay
“I read Bloom in one night. I started feeling hopeless and pushed down. Shani picked me up, dusted me off, and guided me to self-love in a few short hours with only print. Truly inspiring” – Rebecca Barnoff