Coral

“Tell your daughters how you love your body.
Tell them how they must love theirs.

Tell them to be proud of every bit of themselves—
from their tiger stripes to the soft flesh of their thighs,
whether there is a little of them or a lot,
whether freckles cover their face or not,
whether their curves are plentiful or slim,
whether their hair is thick, curly, straight, long or short.

Tell them how they inherited
their ancestors, souls in their smiles,
that their eyes carry countries
that breathed life into history,
that the swing of their hips
does not determine their destiny.

Tell them never to listen when bodies are critiqued.
Tell them every woman’s body is beautiful
because every woman’s soul is unique.”
― Nikita Gill, The Girl and the Goddess: Stories and Poems of Divine Wisdom

“Some girls are full of heartache and poetry and those are the kind of girls who try to save wolves instead of running away from them.”
― Nikita Gill, Your Body is an Ocean: Love and Other Experiments

“Depression isn't a war you win. It's a battle you fight every day. You never stop, never get to rest. It's one bloody fray after another.”
― Shaun David Hutchinson, We Are the Ants

“We may not get to choose how we die, but we can choose how we live.
The universe may forget us, but it doesn't matter. Because we are the ants, and we'll keep marching on.”
― Shaun David Hutchinson, We Are the Ants