LETTER FROM THE FOUNDER
When the THRIVE team and I sat down and came up with the theme for this month ’ s issue , of course we had to talk about what everyone was going to talk about and that ’ s LOVE but I wanted to do more than give you hope that one day you ’ ll find your Mr . Right . So this issue isn ’ t just about falling in love again with a man , but also about falling in love with yourself , because that ’ s the key to finding true love . Of course , we want someone to snuggle up to , someone to kiss and miss , someone to make us feel good and have butterflies ; but none of that will last for FOREVER if we don ’ t first fall in love with ourselves .
As some of you may have noticed from the cover , I am now engaged which means I have fallen in love again , but I guarantee you the journey to get here started just like the cover with me looking in the mirror and falling in love with who was looking back at me . I ’ ve had many days and long nights of looking deep within myself : dissecting , uncovering and coming to terms with so much of who I really was . There were nights I cried , felt stupid and embarrassed and then there were moments I became proud of how much I had overcome . Throughout the entire journey of falling in love with me , I kissed a few frogs in search of my prince , swore off men completely and when the journey of loving me came to a close . I finally settled on celibacy . I became extremely clear of the man I needed vs wanted . I had learned so much about me that I inadvertently learned about my future husband . I finally truly loved me ; flaws and all and began my journey to change and re-create who I needed to be in order to become the best version of my possible self . I had no time for the fluff and emotions that use to cloud my judgement when it came to dating . I became very matter-of-fact and upfront . I would freely tell men from the start who I am flaws and all , where I ’ m trying to go and what my future looks like in my head . This allowed men to show me who they were : they either walked away or attempted to show me they were my future .
Ms . Pink falling in love all over again !
Stylist : Daniel Miranda of DVM Productions www . dvmproductions . zenfolio . com
Make-up Artist : Mia Yates www . instagram . com / slayedbymia
When I finally met my fiance ’ it was clear that he was either Mr . Right or Mr . Preparation for Mr . Right . He challenged me to grow , he pushed me to new levels and he ripped open every band-aid not to make me bleed but to help me heal and have the least amount of scar tissue as possible . We long distance dated so my celibacy was never comprised , ‘ cause who knows if my willpower was really up for the challenge and he asked me to marry him before he was in my physical presence . Now many would say that this couldn ’ t work , but I promise you it can and did for us , but only because we both were in love with ourselves already . We both had done the work to become better for ourselves and we both owned up to who we really were flaws and all . The best part about truly getting to know him and building a solid foundation is that now when things are stressful , or he makes me mad (‘ cause I ’ m perfect and never make him mad ) after the emotion settles we are able to keep it real and talk it through . I ’ m no longer waiting for the fairytale or looking for the perfect dream , because I ’ m loving the real life roller coaster of building FOREVER with someone .
From My to Your ,
THRIVE