Posted in Creative Writing, Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Love, Mental Health, Potential and Worth, Power, Quotes, Reflection, Self-Care, Self-Talk

I love You.

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Dear Nina,
Even with the struggle and layers that come with you, I love you.
Even with sickness and daily challenges, I love you.
Every morning, I love you.
When you lay your head to rest, I love you.
When you don’t have energy, I love you.
When you don’t feel accomplished, I love you.
When you doubt your worth, I love you.
When you can’t look at yourself in the mirror, I love you.
In your frustration, I love you.
When you think no one cares, I love you.
When you think no one will fully accept you, I love you.
When your mind is being mean and destructive, I love you.
When you think you are unworthy of love, I still love you.
Even when the thought of love is hard for you, I will always love you.
No matter what is stopping you from loving you, I AM the part of you that will always love you.

-SparklyWarTanks

Posted in Creative Writing, Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Love, Mental Health, Potential and Worth, Power, Quotes, Self-Care, Self-Talk

A Letter of Power: I Choose Myself

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Dear Nina,

You are valued and worthy.

There is no need to continue to adapt and adjust to other people’s needs while not receiving any love and support back.
There is no need to beg others to treat you with respect and continuously try to understand them while they are intentionally misunderstanding you.
There is no need to blame yourself every time something goes wrong.
There is no need to wait on someone else to see how much of a good person you are.
You do not need to wait for someone to make space for you when you continuously make space for them.
You do not need to be validated or to prove your worth.
When someone shows you over and over that they don’t care, believe them.
You value transparency, honesty, and support. Don’t accept anything less than what you deserve.
Keep your circle small with people who love you and care for you as much as you love and care for them.
Don’t give anyone excuses for their behavior not meeting the bare minimum standards.
Your worth is not dependent on how they treat you or their ability to change. They will not change. Choose you. You deserve to choose you every time.

With Love and Power,
SparklyWarTanks

Posted in Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Love, Mental Health, Potential and Worth, Power, Quotes, Self-Care, Self-Talk

Radical Self-Acceptance

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

It’s difficult to face yourself, every part of yourself. To sit, feel your pain, and acknowledge when you need help is nothing short of a heroic act.

Advocate for yourself when no one else is advocating for you. Call yourself out when you know you need to do better. Move and do what’s best for you. Trust in yourself. Gain knowledge. Grow in empathy.

Realize that you don’t need to carry those burdens everywhere you go. Relieve yourself of the expectations that cause you pain and fuel habits of self-sabotage. Create reasonable expectations instead. Know yourself. Say no. Be gentle with your self-talk.

Speak the words “I can” and walk in your affirmations and manifestations. Follow through with what you say you will.

Be intentional with self-love and take care of yourself.

Realize how important you are and take action. Move in grace and gentleness with every step.

The more you accept yourself in your intrinsic beauty and worth, the closer you are to purpose and change.

First believe, each step will then be accompanied with power.

Posted in Challenges, Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Mental Health, Potential and Worth, Power, Self-Care, Self-Talk, The Pencil Case on The Mighty

Self-Reflection Challenge: 5 Things That Make You Beautiful

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Value, worth, and beauty are all a part of who we are. Intrinsic beauty, the beauty that encapsulates our essence, shows in how we own and accept how we move, think, and exists. We all have this beauty. What I find most difficult in owning this beauty is manifesting and speaking about what this beauty looks like.

Intrinsic beauty can be our hobbies, what makes us smile, the process of our self-discovery, our passions and ambitions, healing and advocacy, our favorite physical feature, what we are proud of ourselves for and why, and owning our purpose. Owning intrinsic beauty is figuring out what makes us who we are and acknowledging that it is real.

I challenge you to list 5 things that make you intrinsically beautiful. What makes you who you are? How has your experiences shaped your beauty?

For me, the journey to manifesting my intrinsic beauty just started. I’m excited to understand more about myself and what makes me feel at peace and at home.

Here are the five things that make me beautiful:
1. My active self-awareness and ambition to become more of myself every day.
2. My empathy and high sensitivity.
3. My open mind and creativity.
4. My smile.
5. The ability I have to understand multiple perspectives at once.

Although a lot of these things weren’t on my list before, they are now, and I will no longer dismiss and ignore those parts of myself.

Posted in Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Potential and Worth, Power, Quotes, Self-Care, Self-Talk

Dear Black Women

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

While in the midst of creating SparklyWarTanks, the first target audience that popped into my mind was to reach minds and open perspectives in my neighborhood; the black neighborhood in Brooklyn I call home. I wanted to talk about mental health and women empowerment to those Black and Latinx women I saw every day.

I build SparklyWarTanks with the goal to uplift and empower women in my community but, what made my goal for SparklyWarTanks distinct and concrete, reflecting me and my growth, is remembering and honoring those black women educators/advisors/counselors/friends who helped shape my perspective. It was the love, care, and dedication of these women that I saw in myself, the ability to be something great when I thought I was nothing.

So to say that I am not a combination of great minds is false.

Black women, you are sacred and valued. Your voice is strong and transcends logical limitations. Speak your truth. Your life is important. You continue to lead us in revolution and I thank you.

I see you. I hear you. I love you.

Rest in power Breonna Taylor.

Posted in Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Mental Health, Potential and Worth, Power, Self-Care, Self-Talk

Dear Black Men, Your Mental Health Matters

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

I talk about mental health a lot. I talk about mental health because it wasn’t talked about much at all in the brown and black communities where I grew up. Whatever was done was done and that’s it. A lot of the trauma, fear, resentment, and anger in these communities were ignored. Not to mention the “undiagnosed” mental health struggles passed along as “anger issues” “aggressiveness” and “emotional unavailability”.

It’s overwhelming for me to see and feel the pain of my community, especially with the blatant racism and hatred seen daily.

It’s not just about black men, specifically, seeing their fears and anxieties manifested during these atrocities, but the residue left on their mental health from constantly feeling unsafe in a world that targets them.

Black men, your mental health matters. It’s okay to check-in and find support from people who do help you feel just a little bit safer. Your life matters and so does your mental wellness. I can’t even imagine what its like, but I extend my empathy to you.

I love you, I see you, I hear you and I’m here to listen.

Posted in Events, Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration

NAMI-NYC Virtual Expressive Arts Event!

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

It’s today!!! Here are the directions for today’s virtual NAMI-NYC event workshop I will be co-hosting.

Note: The time listed on the NAMI-NYC website is in Eastern Standard Time. Also, the option to call in is available under the Zoom link as well if you are more comfortable calling instead of video chatting. Zoom also has the option to mute audio and “turn off video” if you would also prefer to watch and participate at your own leisure. Lastly, if you only have paper and pencil/pen that’s okay too! Whatever you have we can work with.

Hope to see you there!

Click here to find event link.

Posted in Creative Writing, Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Mental Health, Potential and Worth, Power, Reflection, Self-Care, Self-Talk, The Mighty, The Pencil Case on The Mighty

Pencil Case Prompts: Reflection

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Setting and following through with goals can be tiring, time-consuming, and requires dedication. Deciding why a goal is important can help to navigate the likelihood of you following through with accomplishing what you want to do.

Activity

Why is setting goals important to you?
-Why is setting goals important?
-What value do goals have in helping you get where you want to go?

My Reflection

Goals are important to me because they help me to stay grounded and focused. Without a focal point to channel my overactive imagination, I typically sleep or dwell on wanting to do more without knowing how. Goals help me to feel a sense of purpose and accomplishment.

Join this prompt’s conversation here on The Mighty.

Write a thank you letter to the biggest lesson you’ve learned this year.

The letter can be written to a person, place, thing, or idea and can be written as creativity as possible. It can rhyme and mimic a poem, or simply be a list of things you’ve learned. The letter can be about a lesson you’re still learning or have learned earlier this year.

Questions to get you thinking:
-What is the lesson?
-Why is the lesson important to you?
-What has the lesson taught you about yourself?
-Has the lesson changed your perspective in any way?
-What does self-care and self-reflection look like after learning this lesson?

The goal of this letter is to reflect and move forward in grace as you progress further into this year.

My Reflection

Dear Change and Transformation,

Thank you for allowing me to see everything that is me. From the sensitivities to the pain that binds me. I am more than I ever thought I can be, and that is creating something huge inside of me.

I thought I was nothing and constantly needed validation. But, I’m learning to be still and take one moment at a time.

I am important, too. And that’s big coming from me. I don’t have to fix everything to be seen.

I can smile and be happy.
I can manifest abundance.
I am beautiful.
I am not too different or unworthy.
I can be loved, too.

The more space I make within myself to manifest the thoughts that can shape a better tomorrow, I welcome. I welcome peace and acceptance.

These are all from you Change and Transformation, so thank you.

-Nina/SparklyWarTanks

Join this prompt’s conversation here on The Mighty.

**Feel free to participate and share in the comment section below!

Posted in Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Love, Mental Health, Potential and Worth, Power, Reflection, Self-Care, Self-Talk, The Mighty, The Pencil Case on The Mighty

Pencil Case Prompts: Self-Advocating

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

To honor your needs is to reflect and prioritize what is most important to you and for you. Honoring your needs allows you to grow in self-awareness and self-compassion.

Become intentional with your needs so you can vocalize and advocate for yourself whenever your needs aren’t being met.

Activity

What are some ways you can honor your needs better?

-What are the ways to best honor your needs?
-Why are those ways important to you and your self-care?

My Reflection

I can honor my needs better by not feeling bad or guilty for being vocal about what I need.
If on the occasion I feel bad about asserting my needs, I tend to fall into people-pleasing behaviors abandoning my needs altogether.

Affirmation: I will be open and honest about what I need and not feel like a burden to others when asserting those needs.

Join this prompt’s conversation here on The Mighty.

As we continue the journey of learning what it means to set goals and carry them out, we come to the question of how to hold ourselves accountable for the goals we set. Without accountability, all we have are thoughts and ideas with potential. Without action there are no results.

Activity

So, what can you do to prioritize the goals you set?

-What actions do you take to prioritize the goals that mean something to you?
-Why are those actions important in your goal setting journey?
-How are those actions holding you accountable for reaping results?

Reflection

As ambitious as I am, I make goals all the time. Making goals isn’t the issue for me, remembering all the goals and making them feasible is how I can hold myself accountable to them. I can accomplish this by writing down my goals once they are manageable then create a plan and to-do list.

Join this prompt’s conversation here on The Mighty.

Posted in Confessions, Keep Moving: Motivation and Inspiration, Love, Mental Health, Potential and Worth, Power, Reflection, Self-Care, Self-Talk, What Just Happened: Personal Anecdotes

I’m Not “Too Much”

Posted on by SparklyWarTanks

Hi my name is Nina and I’m highly sensitive. Yes, I’ve said this before and yes, it’s something I’m learning to love about myself. Plagued with hearing the phrases like I’m “too sensitive” or “too deep” penetrates my psyche leaving me feeling invalidated and strange.

Yes, I notice things, very subtle things. I notice patterns and changes; I notice character traits and inconsistencies; I notice my feelings from an overwhelming amount of notices. In an attempt to create stricter boundaries for myself honoring my needs and concerns, I express thoughts on these notices. It’s been a tough road as I’ve grown frustrated with how much I feel and all that I notice.

Ultimately, I simply want to be able to express myself without being “too much.” I’m not too much. This is me in my high sensitivity.