An Upspoken commentary on Alia Bryd’s original piece here
There are never enough spaces for us, and never enough media content that truly represents us, yet here we have Alia Byrd reading our souls and giving us both. From one sista to another, all we can say is yass girl yass!
Not only did “A Black Girl’s Guide to Self-Care” recognize the struggle of being a Black woman in today’s world, but it provided us with some steps to self-care we often forget in the pursuit of Black excellence. It’s hard out here for a sista, and Alia was able to boil down the struggle to under 800 words while respecting it and providing us with real ways to ease our burdens.
While written specifically for her fellow students at Goshen College, each and every one of us can vibe with the sentiments she touches on. When she dropped knowledge that “137 Black women die every day due to preventable heart-related problems,” we knew, not only was she reaching out to Black women, but she was calling us to lean in and make ourselves and our health a priority.
Candidly, we’re bookmarking this piece as a go-to reference on how to properly treat and care for ourselves. Alia said, “Go on a walk and clear your mind, take care of your body, and change the world in the process, because you can, queen,” and she was right! We can! And we will!
Check out Alia Byrd’s seven-step self-care method here! And tell us how you do self-care in the comments section below.