I want to recognize a few of my personal favorite accounts to follow. Social media should be used as a platform to share positivity, as a resource for support, and a place to see things that make you smile and bring you joy
Shine text:
With the mission to treat yourself better; through daily motivation and meditations to help you be kinder to yourself, how could you not love Shine Text.
A good friend of mine introduced me to Shine Text, and it has consistently been a source of positivity.
Shine’s focus is on personal growth, motivational messaging, and other self-improvement topics, which are delivered by way of text and audio. Through short-form audio, users can get help across many areas, including things like productivity, mindfulness, focus, stress, and anxiety, burn out, acceptance, self-care for online dating, creativity, forgiveness, work frustrations, and more. With articles like “How to Lighten Up on That Daily Self Critique,” “The Mental Toll of being ‘Twice as Good’ in the workspace” and “Here’s Your Permission to *Enjoy* Being Bad at Something” to name a few, there is something for everyone!
Their daily affirmations text messages that you can subscribe to are often the first text I receive on busy days. It is excellent to start the day on a high, knowing I can tackle the day, or if I don’t, it will be okay.
Shine Text is a fun and inspiring app! I love all the resources it provides. Highly recommend!
21Ninety:
21ninety challenges you to upgrade your life. Gives beauty and skincare tips to bring out that inner glow. Provides wellness advice to ensure that you invest in your mental wellbeing. Sprinkles in BLACK GIRL MAGIC because duh We lit!! Offers décor ideas because your home should be as fly as your best brunch outfit or outfits. Showcases black hair and appreciation for it; because our hair defies gravity and our crowns. Ultimately producing ways to improve our daily habits, because our practices determine our future!
21ninety has EVERYTHING! From their IG account to their website and yearly women’s conference #Summit21 Atlanta and as of this year LA, 21ninety is a place for beautiful Black and Brown women to be celebrated, nurtured, educated, and pushed to live their best life!
21ninty is a spinoff of Blavity, a tech company for forward-thinking Black millennials pushing the boundaries of culture and the status quo. When Blavity launched 21ninety, they stated, “Women of color are frequently left out of mainstream conversations regarding beauty and health even though we drive culture and invest in these industries at unparalleled rates. 21Ninety is your chance to share your voice, see accurate and relatable representation, and to not only participate in but lead discussions in these categories.”
For me, 21ninety has lived up to that and more. It has been a source of inspiration and a place that feels like home. I took my first solo trip to Atlanta for the #Summit21 women’s conference, and I have no regrets! Being an introvert, I am not always up for large crowds, especially in social settings where you have to “network.” But from the moment I stepped on site, I felt wrapped in love and encouragement, surrounded by other intelligent, determined, fashionable, killing the game black women. It even allowed me to reconnect with a childhood schoolmate. Was so sad I could not attend this year, but in 2020 I am in there.
Tracee Ellis Ross:
“And you have the voices to celebrate and liberate beauty in all of its forms.” Tracee Ellis Ross spoke these words as this year’s keynote speaker at #GMC2019. All the while serving looks in a pink sparkly jumpsuit. She is dedicated to helping others, particularly teenage girls, find their inner strength, confidence, and pathways to satisfaction. For this alone, she will always be my WCW. She is the epitome of grace, talent, and sense of self personified. Sophistication in living form.
I have loved her since her role as Joan Carol Clayton, the controlling but lovable Lawyer, who quit her job to follow her passion, and found true love by being determined to never settle for half-ass love and now as Rainbow Johnson, fashionable woman, wife and “the cool mom.” Who is a Doctor and saves lives! But it has been through Instagram that I have grown to love her even more. She is vocal about having bad days and how to get through them. She told Glamour magazine that her primary advice is to acknowledge the bad feelings. Embrace them and “make friends” with them. Learn “the difference between choice-full solitude and lonely.” And tell people close to you how you are — don’t bottle it up. She says: “[I find comfort in] being able to name it, to say I’m feeling lonely. Then to have a tribe of people I feel safe enough with to share: This is how I feel.”
Her transparency and authenticity always shine through, which inspires me to do the same. Her confidence is to be herself is a #forevermood!!! Plus, she serves looks on the daily, love hair day Fridays lol. And let’s not forget about her love and appreciation of music. If you have Apple music, check out her playlist. It’s a Vibe!!!