Confidence; My Secret

Each part of me tells you a little more of who I truly am inside.
Every flaw and every detail I have come to embrace with pride.

My scars are a story of the places I have been.
My tattoos are a badge of honor from the wars I’ve fought within.

My hair is an ever changing canvas of how I feel.
My makeup hides my fears and I wear it as a shield.

My clothes are a reflection of the dreams inside my head.
My shoes an outward symbol of all the journeys I have led.

My stretch marks are a chapter of who I once was.
My nails show you I’m forever fighting with my sharpened claws.

My heart, beating with so much love, reminds you that this novel is a never ending one.
My voice, as shaky as it can be, confirms that I believe in fighting until I’ve won.

So as the story goes; each piece shows you exactly who I am and who I’ve always been determined to be.
If you choose to keep on reading; all that I am asking is that you accept every piece of me.

Desiree Angelica Young

02/11/2019

One of the most frequent “compliments” I hear is how impressed people are/have been with my confidence. My confidence in who I am, the confidence I have in sharing my story so publicly and the confidence I had when I was damn near four hundred pounds.

I’ve been asked what my secret is. How I pushed through and didn’t let words break me. Many have wondered why I have shared so much about my own personal journey to becoming who I am in this moment. ( Which, let me be honest here; is still TERRIFYING to me. Each and every time I hit the publish button on this blog. Seriously! – especially sharing my poetry. . Cause who in the hell reads, let alone writes poetry these days; besides me?!?🤷‍♀️)

I would be lying and do no one any justice if I said I have been or am always one hundred percent sure of myself. I have moments that can lead into days of picking a part every detail of myself; inward and outward. I have written about my depression and anxiety that I continue to struggle with. I am human and feel emotions so deeply that some times I am my own worst enemy.

My secret though; if I had to pinpoint it, is that I always try to live my life with good intentions. I have always done my very best to be self reflective and not compare myself to others. I believe in living this life with a good, kind heart and surrounding myself with positive, loving, caring, encouraging individuals who love and support me despite my flaws and imperfections. The ones who are cheering me on louder than the demons of my own mind. And those who are there to pick me up when the demons are so loud I curl up in a ball and cover my ears.

Today I am well over a year into this particular journey with my VSG but I am a lifetime into the journey of self love, appreciation and acceptance. To those who struggle with loving who you are; it may sound cliche but it all starts within. Love yourself with the compassion you have for others. Remember that you have one life, one chance & at the end of the day the attitude you have will attract those amazing, kind, caring souls. They will gravitate to you and become your circle! Cherish yourself and cherish them! ♥️

& don’t beat yourself up too hard over a bad meal, cheat day, lazy day or any “flaw” you can come up with. If I spent my time focusing on those things I would not have the motivation or strength to be who or where I am on this journey. But I don’t believe one milkshake (see picture below) should derail me from continuing down this path I’ve chosen for myself.  I know that tomorrow is another day and that this is my own path so I make the choices on how to proceed. Live this life for you, because of you, to be the happiest version of you than you can be. And some days that means getting the damned milkshake. 🤷‍♀️

Since this is my VSG blog and I haven’t updated ya’ll in a while here are some current stats.

Highest Weight: 398lbs

Current Weight: 185-188lbs

Goal Weight: stay healthy and happy. 😍