Sha-keh-ree

“We don’t always get the explanations or apologies we deserve. People don’t always love you right. The only thing you can control is how you love yourself.”
― Ashley Antoinette, Ethic 5

“I am woman and woman is beautiful. We are expected to be beautiful, so I will be what people don’t expect. They don’t expect intelligence, they don’t expect grace. I am strong, and even when others have the ability to physically overpower me, mentally, I am stronger. I am a queen on a throne, and a place next to me must be earned. When I find my king, his power doesn’t erase my own. My crown is not a man’s to repossess. I was born in regality. I am kind, but naivety does not dwell within me. I am woman. I am the origin. Everything begins and ends with me. No man is worthy of my worth. I cannot be bought. I will not sell myself short. I do not give discounts. I am woman. I demand respect. I respect my dignity. My presence is a revocable gift, rented with effort and good intention. I am woman.”
― Ashley Antoinette, Ethic 3

“Betrayal from a stranger, from somebody you don’t love, doesn’t affect you. You loved him, and to love a person, you have to know that they will hurt you one day because we’re human. We’re imperfect. So, hurt is a part of the equation. That’s what forgiveness is for. To keep the people you love in your life after they’ve damaged you. Forgiveness is for you, not them.”
― Ashley Antoinette, Ethic 4

“You never let another person value you more than you value yourself. People come into our lives and we’re lucky to have them while they choose to stay. We enjoy the time they’re here, but when they leave, they leave, and you must be okay with it being just you again because nothing’s promised.”
― Ashley Antoinette, Ethic 5