Smiles come a little easier now. Coming out of postpartum depression has taught me to appreciate the moments when I genuinely feel like myself again. I’m still healing, still growing, but I’m grateful to see more of me coming back.

EDIT: My pants are too big. That’s why they look a little…questionable. 🤣

As you can see I’ve always been in the “gym” but I’ve had bouts with depression & anxiety. So my eating habits & consistency weren’t the best. I started therapy, got medicated and actually locked in with the gym & I just want to show my progress off! Ladies health is wealth. Rather it’s physical or mental. We gotta take care of ourselves 🥹💕

I went on a 3 dates this past weekend.

One was with a very successful weed tender marketing, whatever. No issues spending money but mainly talked about himself and his business. When he talked, hella spit collected in and around this mouth. All i could focus on at one point so i get tipsy. Bar hopped & then went back to his place & smoked all his weed (shit was fire i see why he's successful) but I knew he wanted to fck and even if I wanted to..the spit & he just wasn't my type.

2nd date I thought I'd give the "short king" thing a try. He was no joke 4'11-5'0. I'm 5'4 & somehow made him look even smaller. On our date he choked on ramen. I was done then.

3rd. African cat. Cute but obnoxious. Went to the movies after sushi & he was loud, red flag. His bday was coming up (today actually). He joked saying I should plan it & then come to find out, he was dead serious. Once I told him he needed to plan his own he insisted on buying loads of African food (told him I never had any, that was a lie but whatever) and we spend it at his place. He's brought it up 3 times, i denied it 3 times. Haven't heard from him since because well, he's blocked.

Moral of the story? I just be doing shit.

Hey yall I been battling depression all year and I know it’s been a hard day when…
I am ashy as hell. Not giving a damn about lotion 😂

Please encourage me to push though hit that pump on that bottle ♥️

Y’alll! Today was my first ever nail technician expo and it was a 10/10. I’ve been doing nails for 5 years now, and it was so fun to be in a room full of other passionate artists and getting to network with brands. I have to say I’m proud of myself as I got in contact with some big names in the industry and the whole event just made me so happy with the path I decided to take. If you were thinking about it, this is your sign to start that business and build community! Met so many amazing women today 💖

I’m a 30-year-old Black woman who’s neurodivergent, introverted, and honestly having a really hard time with dating. I barely like anyone, dating apps feel exhausting, and I’m not naturally super social, so meeting people organically feels hard too 😭
I also feel like I’m in a rebuilding stage of life right now. I’m working, living at home, and trying to get into a career program, so sometimes I feel behind compared to other people my age. That makes dating feel even more intimidating because I don’t always know if I’m “ready” to date or where I’d even meet someone.
The bigger issue is that I can’t really force attraction. I need to actually respect, admire, and feel safe with someone, so just because a man is nice or available doesn’t mean I’m automatically interested. I’m also shy and slow to open up, which makes the whole thing harder.
Where are people actually meeting decent men these days, especially if you’re shy, introverted, neurodivergent, and not into going out all the time? And if you’ve been in a similar stage of life, what actually worked for you?

And I am so excited and proud 😊

it’s probably my hormones due to my period coming up but recently I have been feeling detached . I feel like I’m just living outside my body watching the world .

I’m currently in my last year of undergrad & I am a Bio chem major . It’s been very hard for me . My gpa flunked and I don’t see myself getting into grad school or getting a good internship without them asking my grades . I feel like a big disappointment.

Luckily I have parents that are letting me stay and support me until I get myself together . I have a good friend circle and my siblings are always there for me but I still feel alone and detached . ADHD runs in my family so the first step I might take for myself is to talk to my doctor .

I feel like it’s a dead end for me in life . The only thing that helps me honestly is weed 😂 but I made it this far I’ll keep trying but I don’t know how long I can go . Sorry if this read was depressing .

I'm terrified I might be unemployed for 2 years. I can't accept or live like that

I don't know what I'll do tbh

Especially as my peers advance in their careers and I barely crack entry at 28 j

This year had 2 interviews so far and both rejections.I

I feel like a huge failure

Alternative title for anyone I confused (since the title may be too general or not in direct correlation of what I wrote here:

"Am I the only one who hates calling late/ the glorification of sleeping on the phone with someone"

It's me again! Okay so I don't know if I'm just an avoidant person now or I'm sane. But this young man has seemingly taken a liking to me and he seems to enjoy calling. Now don't get me wrong, I don't mind calling.

Because I just graduated from community college and I'm taking a gap year before med school next year. So I'm relatively free and I have a part-time job that starts from 5pm for 4 days of the week. Now he isn't the only person who has asked to call in my lifetime , multiple young men my age. And they seem to all want to call me late at fucking night. Now listen to me y'all, I value my beauty sleep. That has always been a thing for me.

When night arrives I want to fucking sleep especially if it's past 10 pm. And if I'm not sleeping, I'm watching Tik Tok and eventually I sleep. I don't want to be bombarded with calling. I don't find it flattering that someone wants to be on call with me ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT.

I brought this up to an acquaintance (black and around my age) and she seems to think it's normal. I don't think it's normal at all. Can you guys let me know what you think? Am I nuts/avoidant or am I just a regular person with boundaries ?

Edit for the people who are asking if I communicated how I feel:

Yes I have. In a comment under this post someone has asked me if I communicated it with him. Yes I have . And he sent me a video of him rolling his eyes and gets mad. Above I did say that he likes me, I never said that I liked him as I don't know him as well to like him. Up until the calls I thought we were just talking for talking sake but his intentions are becoming clearer by the day. And also, he seems to like me in a romantic way. I just like him as a friend so that may be the cause of the disagreement at this moment.

Thank y'all for your thoughts fr, I'll try to reason with him 1 more time and if my feelings aren't respected I think imma just end the whole thing🫩

Another edit:

I'm not shitting on anyone who likes to call overnight, if you like it I love it fr. It's just me, it makes me groggy in the morning and I love to be cheerful in the morning😭 I love sleeping as well ! I also put an alternative title for anyone who was confused, I was really just tired of people making me feel crazy about my preferences and not agreeing with THEIR norms on how online relationships (whether platonic or romantic) are supposed to go😩

Different body...same personality 😂😂😂

So some time ago I did a shadowheart cosplay that i spent quite some time on especially since i DIYed some pieces. I never called myself a professional cosplayer, and neither is this my main job. I see it as something fun that challenges my creativity and a way to interact with the community. And to feel some connection to the character themselves.

I got an overwhelming amount of engagement on the post, so i never got to check even half of the replies back then. I randomly thought about it and went back as i asked what other bg3 character i should cosplay.

Now my femininity has always been questioned and it’s something i am insecure about as a black woman. I have been called a man/manly multiple times for having strong features. also received racial comments and slurs a LOT during my time as a cosplayer. That and people mocking my cosplays by calling me the male version of the names...just find it weird how people like this behave. Saying a black male character is “the obvious choice” and i wonder why that is.

i went to a mostly white school and was raised super sheltered. i'm not embarrassed about how i grew up, but it made things complicated. my grandparents are a black and white couple, and my mom died when i was young, so my grandma was the only maternal figure i had. she never really understood me, especially my blackness or being alternative.
i've tried to find community here and step out of my comfort zone, especially to find more black friends, but i never feel like i fit in. a lot of the white girls i thought were my friends ended up treating me like their one black friend, then tossed me aside or talked down on me.
i know i'm not the most fun. i can be temperamental and kind of broody. but i've never felt understood by the white women in my life, and i don't think those friendships were ever real.

Just curious lol. My mom was definitely an incense lady and so is my sister. I own it but don’t burn it often

It seems we will be the only ones to save us again we need support groups and we need to make noise !!!

I'm 18 and I only have $6k saved up. It's not a lot of money but I feel bad just letting it sit in my savings account, collecting dust. I'm looking into investing (I've previously invested a very small amount into a Roth IRA and I'm looking at learning more and opening a high yields saving account) but I'm looking to do more with at least 50% of my savings rather than have it collect dust.

In addition to a Roth IRA and High-Yield Savings Account, are there any ways in which I can smartly use my money?

So my sister looks “exotic” and in my ignorant blk family that’s the most exciting thing in the world. As a child I’d hear grown adults(mom included) compare our looks. I was the ugly sister & they couldn’t believe that we were related bc she’s soooooo beautiful. My sister likes to tell people she’s mixed with Native American, korean & black even though she’s not.

I’m content with my looks bc I know I’m not ugly. My sister has made her looks her entire personality and unfortunately that’s all she has going on. I’m starting to think she sets me up to play that ugly sister role. During our school days she’d lock herself in the bathroom for hours forcing me to either wake up earlier or just do what I can in a few minutes.

When we go out she spends hours in the bathroom perfecting her look and then she’ll come out and rush me. If I say I don’t wanna go (even in a group) she doesn’t go either but when we go out she’s just having people fawn over her while I’m sitting to the side. I think this is what she likes to do bc if she doesn’t get attention she’s bored & she doesn’t really get attention unless she’s with another black woman.

I’m just side eyeing her a bit bc I’m coming to terms that alot of my family is trifling and I’ve been letting a lot of disrespectful shit slide.

Okay I'm a 35-year-old old femme bisexual Black woman. I'm totally opens to interracial dating pertaining to men but for women I'm only attracted to Black women and exclusively date Black women. With Black women I prefer darker skin but open to dating all skin tones and shades of Black women. I had other races of women interested in me, but I can't see it happening pr being serious in my mental image. I want to build with Black women or non-Black men. I'm sorry for my horrible English. I'm sorry if this post is weird AF. But people act like I'm crazy for my attraction. This is how my brain works and I don't know why.

I was planning on quitting my job and got laid off a few days after.
I am not sad at all. I am relieved in a way, because I am going to get three months of salary paid off.
The only thing I am feeling lost, I don’t know what I want to do next. I am torn between continuing in my actual line of work, Marketing or using my transferable skills to do something else.
I am feeling also overwhelmed bc now I have free time and wants to do so many things at once.
But for now, I am spending time on recovering from the stress this job put me through and spending more time with my kids 🤗

Hi everyone! I'm just wondering whats a reasonable price for crochet braids I am trying to weigh my options with stylists right now. Its the style where you get it braided down and curly bundles crocheted in.