Born to Jamaican Parents in Detroit, Michigan, I’ve never
wanted for anything, especially food. Like many households, wasting food wasn’t
an option for me so I became best friends with whatever was placed in front of
me. My parents began to realize that my intake was more than my output and
wanted me to become more active, so they put into dance classes, which turned
out to be a blessing and a curse. I trained as a dancer for over 15 years and
spent hours each week working to perfect my craft. As my teenage years
approached so did the self-harm and hate. Although I loved to dance, I despised
going to dance class because I was constantly compared to the “front row”
girls. According to ballet standards back then, I didn’t have the proper body
type to make it out of the back row.
As my training as a dancer ended, I slowly began to
rebuild my confidence by joining a gym and focusing on me from the inside, out.
After a short time, I fell in love with working out but still struggled with
being consistent and having realistic exceptions for my body. I spent years
beating myself up emotionally, physically and mentally. I compared myself to
other women, wanting what they had instead of loving and appreciated what I was
blessed with. As I got older, I realized that being the best me was the only
goal I wanted to reach. I stopped relying on what others thought was “Body
Goals” and became my own “BODDee Goals”. I want to inspire others to not only
love themselves but to push through the pressures of society and “Be Your Own
BODDee Goals”.