Learning to love myself in a world that keeps trying to k*ll me
The world is on fire and they want us to burn quietly?!
In the last week alone, ICE has kicked in doors in Los Angeles homes like they’re starring in a dystopian reboot. Planned Parenthood clinics are closing across the country.
Basic human rights feel like they’re being auctioned off to whoever yells the loudest on the Senate floor.
And in the middle of all that noise, I posted a cute outfit video online, and got told to k*ll myself and starve. That I don’t deserve to exist. That I shouldn’t show my face because it’s not “pretty enough.”
As a Hispanic woman, a plus-size woman, a woman who’s always had to fight just to feel halfway safe, I’m tired.
I was born here. So was my Dominican father. But ICE doesn’t care if you have documentation when they come for your neighbors. Or your family.
Today I want to talk about what it’s like to still choose yourself, in spite of everything.
You start to believe them when everyone wants you gone
The news screams that I shouldn’t have a body. That I shouldn’t have autonomy. That I shouldn’t be here.
So do the trolls. The laws. The silence from people who claim to love us but “don’t want to get political.”
Eventually, it sinks in.
That you're supposed to stay small. Stay grateful. Stay hidden.
And if not hidden, then gone.
Self-love isn’t soft, it’s survival
They told me self-love was bubble baths. Turns out it’s being the only one at the dinner table who speaks up when someone says something truly hateful.
It’s making people uncomfortable because I refuse to shrink.
It’s setting boundaries with relatives who “don’t see the problem.”
It’s calling ICE what it is: a legalized weapon made by racists
It’s showing my face online on purpose.
You might’ve noticed my art looks like me lately.
Curly hair. Chubby thighs. Tall and fucking powerful like I dare you to flinch.
There’s a reason I made her ride a dragon. Because if I’m going to survive this world, I’ll do it with fire and a spear in hand.
And yeah, I thought of that old quote while I was sketching her: “Be the light you wish to see in the world.” But what if the light is a torch?
What if being that light means burning down every lie they told you about your worth?
I’m done apologizing for existing
I’m not just surviving anymore.
I’m learning to love myself with the same intensity the world tries to destroy me.
Every law they pass, every door they kick in, every hateful DM, just adds fuel to the fire.
This isn’t just self-love.
It’s resistance.
It’s legacy.
It’s mine.
If you’re angry too, here’s what you can do
🖤 Support immigrant families facing ICE by donating to RAICES, they provide legal aid, housing, and hope.
🖤 Read about what’s happening right now:
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Thank-you. 🌟