Constance

Who are you?

Well, my name is Constance Smith. I am a powerful woman. I also get my career attached to my personality but my personality is my career. I’ve been wanting to advocate and show/influence others, to love themselves regardless of their size, of their shape, or their skin color. In loving themselves and accepting themselves, they’re then able to show gratitude and give it back to others. We’re only here for a limited time, the only guarantee is we’re going to die - we just don’t know when. We have to take hold of all the opportunities, we have to remain blessed, and we have to stay focused on what we’re here for. I'm just a girl growing and experiencing life’s roller coaster - the highs, the lows, the experience.

Are you the black sheep?

I am the black sheep in a sense because since a young age I’ve been very opiniated. For the lack of better words, I just never gave a fuck. I grew up watching the women in my family not loving themselves, always criticando que look at my arms, look at this and that and i would wonder, “wow why don’t you see what i see?” This reinforced a strong sense of self and me loving myself and being unapologetically me, i.e wearing what I wanted to wear and not caring what people had to say. When I put my mind to something, I’m not taking no for an answer. I may have to regroup and come up with another plan; but, I’m coming back for it. No one is going to deter me from what I want to do. Why? Because you have no way of telling me I can't do anything. I am definitely the black sheep as far as being the first to respond to my entrepreneurial spirit. My family doesn’t understand it; but,it's not for them to. The times are different. I created this life for myself.

What is your message to yourself?

I am extremely spiritually connected. I wake in the morning and give my gratitude to my ancestors. I say my prayers. I cleanse. I journal words constantly affirming myself like: “girl you are beautiful, you got this, and you’re beautiful even with tears down your face. This is not your time to give up, you’re right there, keep pushing. It's not easy, but you have to be consistent and be dedicated to yourself. Just know it's always an investment that can be made on your end. If you have the goal, you can have the goal but you have to put in the work, don’t expect everything to come to you easily, everything good isn’t free; you have to invest and do what you got to do but you gotta figure out why you’re doing what you’re doing. you have to do it for yourself and not for anyone else.”

What is your message to the world?

Regardless of what you do in life, you have to check in with yourself. Give into that, show gratitude for that, even if it's waking in the morning to be grateful for the breath you took.

Photo credit: Paige Washington