Jasmine Nicole

The most obvious thing that makes me feel strong is when I work out. I started working out consistently almost 2 years ago and so I have watched my body transform into something much stronger. The amount of power that comes from my body at times definitely makes me feel strong and I love it.

My independence makes me feel strong. I know from personal experience that sometimes independence can be a bad thing, but it still makes me feel strong. When I can accomplish something that I set out to do on my own and I do it well; I can’t help but feel anything less than strength. Especially when things don’t go well, because I’m more than often the person who got in my way. I feel like I can accomplish anything then.

I feel strong when I use my voice. I am on this mission for the rest of my life to be more bold and assertive, and so when I speak up and make my through be heard, I feel incredible. Sometimes that feeling comes right at the moment as the adrenaline pumps through me, and sometimes it comes later when I realize how high I had my head up and how my voice didn’t falter, but even if it did, I still kept talking.

And lastly what makes me feel strongest is when I allow myself to be vulnerable. Ironic, right? But yes, the moments in my life when I allowed myself to cry (I’m anti-crying); when I allow myself to go back to therapy after I’ve stopped; when I tell someone that I’m struggling. Even when I stop in the middle of the workout because I can’t go on, but then I start up again, I feel like the HULK. Okay, maybe not the HULK, but I still feel pretty damn strong.

Strength is a funny thing to me though because I feel like I’ve aspired to it my whole life and now I just want to be soft. It’s easier for me. It’s easy to put on a strong front and keep it up. Strength is beautiful, but what’s even more beautiful to me, is vulnerability.

There’s strength in vulnerability.