“You know you a star, you can touch the sky. I know that it’s hard but you have to try,” sings Lizzo–a pop sensation, feminist and LGBTQ+ icon and revolutionary leader in the game of self-love.
If you don’t know who Lizzo is by now, you must have turned off your radio or never cried over boys. The “Truth Hurts” singer has been dominating the music industry for the past few weeks, with three songs on Billboard’s Top 100. Whether it was over her twerk-filled performance at the VMAs, impromptu flute skills or her quick-paced and empowering lyrics, Lizzo deserves all of the attention she’s getting and more.
The Michigan-born sensation has been praised not only for her insane amount of talent in rapping, songwriting and acting but for representing those often without a voice. As a black, plus-sized woman, Lizzo has found importance in representing those who look and think like her. The secret to being so good at that? Loving herself unapologetically.
“I didn’t see anyone like me, ‘cuz there’s no one like me. I became that person I wanted to see,” she said in a recent interview.
Although Lizzo is a glistening example of what healthy self-love looks like. Never has someone with as much influence and power as her preached the importance of fans loving themselves. While we can’t all have adoring fans shouting our name, we have ourselves. And according to Lizzo, that’s more important.
“My advice to anyone who says they want to be the next Lizzo is don’t be. I always tell people don’t follow in my footsteps, create your own footsteps. You need to be the best you that you can be.”
Lizzo begs people to remember that if they are capable of loving her, they are capable of loving themselves.
Personally I’m someone who loves pouring myself into admiring others, especially celebrities and pop culture icons. But what if I spent that much energy being obsessed over myself?
“I don’t think that loving yourself is a choice. I think that it’s a decision that has to be made for survival; it was in my case. Loving myself was the result of answering two things: Do you want to live? ‘Cause this is who you’re gonna be for the rest of your life. Or are you gonna just have a life of emptiness, self-hatred and self-loathing? And I chose to live, so I had to accept myself,” says Lizzo.
We might make mistakes or have hard moments, but at the end of the day, the only person we’ll have in our lives forever is ourselves. Good thing we have Lizzo to remind us of how amazing that really is.
Story by: Amanda Walton
life@suunews.net
Photo Courtesy of Elle
