Self Worth: Monique

The story goes that it was my third day in Hawaii getting ready to start school, and I was miserable. I knew no one but my mom’s college roommates daughter, and that didn’t really count. I was in new student orientation and I was tired of “Hi I’m Michelle. I’m from Arizona.” “Oh that’s nice.” And the other person would go off to talk to someone else. I prayed for a friend. “Heavenly Father if the next person I talk to does not have a conversation with me that is not longer than three sentences I am leaving, and going back to Arizona.” The next person I met was Monique. We were friends on the instant. We were ‘older’ than the 18 year old freshman around us, we were both transfer students, and we didn’t need to stay up tell the wee hours to have fun. Hah! We were friends tell the wee hours of the night.

Monique is beautiful. She didn’t need to hang out with me, there were much more eclectic people around (or so I thought) but she saw me for me, and she treated me like my best self. She saw things in me that needed to come forward, things that needed to be fixed, and things that needed to be enhanced. My wardrobe for one. She was a fashionista with style, simple, but better than any fashion sense I have ever had. I have always considered myself fat. Until this point in my life, I had worn baggy shirts, and no skin tight clothing, as I thought it was too revealing/immodest. Now I know there is no shame in showing off that which what you have been blessed with in a tasteful and sophisticated way. We went shopping many many times, she would get so excited over clothes. I had never seen that before. Excitement for clothes baffled me. She was not only excited for the clothes, but she was excited for me. Clothes reflect self-worth. Self-worth reflects confidence. Monique built me up in more than my lack of style, but my self-worth and confidence.

She showed me how to believe in myself, let my presence be known, and my ability to be free and express my own unique self. I believed in me because she believed in me. Sometimes you need a friend to believe in your self-worth before you can believe in it yourself. I am grateful to her for that. Time has past. I don’t know what she is up to these days, but I am grateful for the days I had to talk to her and be her friend on a daily basis. Friends for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.