“I fell in love with her courage, her sincerity, and her flaming self-respect. And it’s these things I’d believe in, even if the whole world indulged in wild suspicions that she wasn’t all she should be.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Fierce.

Fierce, for many, conjures up images of aggression, anger, or even violence. But when I think of the fierce women I look up to, I think of a lioness, confident, strong and proud. I think of fierce loyalty, fierce love, and the fearlessness that pours from a fierce, brave heart.

We’re often cautioned against being too much, because people might not like that. Don’t laugh too loudly, don’t be too opinionated, don’t fall too hard. Dim your light. Dim the fierceness of your heart.

To that I say never.

Let your laugh shake the earth with its fierce joy! Astound with your capacity for love, boundless and deep as the sea. Roar with the unshakable knowledge that you are beautiful, strong, and worth love beyond your wildest imaginings.

I am learning to find my own fierceness and I am learning to love it, to cherish it, and to let it shine. I am learning to love my fierceness in love, loyalty, kindness, honesty, and humor. I am learning to not to dim my own light, but to love fiercely, to give fiercely, and to laugh with fierce abandon.

The next time you feel like you aren’t incredible just the way you are – remind yourself, that you have an unwavering fierceness in you. There is a fire in you that will never dim. There is a lovely, blessed light that gives you your beautiful fierceness and makes you completely irreplaceable and a force for good in the lives of everyone you touch.

Embrace your fierceness, love yourself, love others, and my darling you will change the world!