Inspired by “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid

Your panties won’t be pristine and that’s okay; it will be bleached and stained by your bodily fluids; no, don’t feel shame. Throw them away if there are holes in them, not because they are not perfect. Waste not if you can. Make sure you’re eating well, you can’t help yourself or others unless you’re tending to you first; and maybe stay away from the junk food? Although sometimes junk food is the only thing to heal so dig into that pint of cookies and cream ice cream because heartbreak fucking sucks. And failing that test sucks too, but another test will come and another test will come, and there will be a test that isn’t scored and it’s all metaphysical and subjective. That’s life though, it is subjective, and sometimes life doesn’t seem like it is worth living. It’s why you should surround yourself with good people; find the sensible and loving friends, and if your family doesn’t support you then make your own. Make a tribe, get a dog or a cat or a horse, animals are wonderful at teaching you unconditional love. When am I going to teach you Chinese? Why would you want to learn, oh you want to learn about your heritage — I’m not the best one for that but I can get you classes and books. Maybe your experience with the language will be better than mine. Be careful of who you let into your life, some people are selfish or careless, but watch out for the greedy and the power hungry, they are the worst ones. Here, this is how you dress for a job interview, here is how you dress for prom, here is how you dress for school, this is how you dress for running, and you can figure out your own style. Who cares if they call you a slut? Your body, your rules, but some will think showing more skin means easy access, so this is how you make a weapon with your car keys. I would rather you be known as a slut or a bitch than a murderer, rapist, or pedophile, because the slut or bitch can still make the world better. Always choose kindness but know that kindness is not synonymous with weakness , boundaries are important so hold firm to those. Hold your head high when you wear those heels, drape your clothes like the queen that you are, and make sure everyone knows you belong.