Got to be Real: Remind yourself daily to be amazing

In your most country accent, peer into your looking glass and say out loud, “I am amazing.”

There is no doubt in my mind I am an amazing woman, and you know why? Because I said so.

We all have special gifts, talents and qualities that make us amazing. I think about some of the women who have graced my life with their “sweet aroma of wisdom, strength and compassion” in the words of my good friend and sister, Monica Bland, and they all were amazing.

We all are wired differently, and my amazement with myself might be petty to someone else, but it still is my amazement just the same. When I look in my mirror, I see a strong, articulate, well put together woman, but some might just see a black, plus-size woman who at times can be loud, a tad assertive and aggressive.

I only know these things because it has been said to my face and behind my back a few times. All I can figure is those people must be looking at the back of my mirror, the empty side.

I think my amazement comes from the triumphs and tribulation that life has brought me in my 52 years here on earth. It comes from being a wife to a military man, being a mother to two children who are as different as salt and pepper and exposing myself to the finer things in life and not forgetting about the sacrifices of those before me.

Just how do you show how amazing you are? For me, I think it is about my walk. I square my shoulders, tilt my head back and strut. I do this even when I don’t feel well or when negative things are going on in my home or at work. You have to be good to see me sweat. And it’s not about hiding or being fake; it’s about the truth we believe about ourselves.

In my position as a domestic violence advocate, I encounter women daily who have been forced to forget about how amazing they truly are. I find myself pumping them up and attempting to head them in the direction of self, so that they can approach the launch pad of their own amazement once again.

Knowing that you can be and are amazing is a wonderful feeling.
And the road to amazing is very simple: Put one foot in front of the other, turn the corner and strut.

Shonna Sheckles lives in Bardstown and works in Elizabethtown.