A Love Letter to My Sistas...

My dearest Sista,

Thank you for showing me the purest meaning of unconditional love. Thank you for your constant encouragement and care. Thank you for helping me to understand that, as women, we must put ourselves first. We must learn to love ourselves before offering ourselves to the world. Thank you for showing me early in life that we are not each other's competition, that we are not here to tear each other down for the affection of men, but that we are each other's teammates. Thank you for always being on the sideline rooting for me. 

Thank you for always being my confidante when a man has disappointed me. Thank you for picking me up when the ground seemed, to me, like the only logical place I belonged. For showing me that being down is only a state of mind, only lasts for a season, and that all seasons must make way for change. Thank you for loving on me when I didn't know exactly how to love on myself. Thank you for helping me to realize my gifts. For listening to every idea, showing up for every triumph and holding me through every trial.

Thank you, Sista, for helping me to understand my sexuality. For showing me that the curves of a woman's body are not solely for the pleasure of men, that there is much to be explored and learned, and that that exploration shouldn't be limited to pornographic exploitation. 

Thank you to the Sistas who birthed the Sistas that I, now, call my Sistas. The Carols, Connies, Barbaras and Jackies. Thank you for nurturing and sharing your babies with the world, for the world is a more full place with them in it.

Thank you for the lessons on loving from afar. For helping me to recognize when the journey has ended, but the love remains. Thank your for allowing me to love and let go.