by: La'Toya Sibley

      Guess what she did today?...... She GRADUATED!!! 👩🏽‍🎓 And who is she? The Founder of ALIVE and WORTHY! That's right! Today I walked across the stage and received my Masters of Science in Christian Counseling of Substance Abuse and Addictive Disorders with a 3.79 GPA. Yes I did! Let me tell you why I am soooo excited.
​      It took me 6 ☝🏽☝🏽☝🏽☝🏽☝🏽☝🏽 years to get this degree. Not because of school because school always came easy to me. But in 2012, after I finished my Bachelors, I went straight into my Masters program to become a Counselor. Then life happened. 2013, I got extremely ill. Had 3 partial colectomies on my intestines in a matter of 2 years that took 2 years to heal (cut from breast bone to pelvic bone and wear the scar proudly to prove it). I was defeated, busted, disgusted with myself, felt worthless and was just ready to quit..... EVERYTHING. But something came over me that told me that I couldn't. End of 2016, I finally said enough is enough and went back to school.
​      Today I walked across that stage claiming done status and is feeling like a proud woman, wife, momma, entrepreneur, all of that. Sickness couldn't hold me down. Depression couldn't take me out. No matter how hard they tried, I did it and I am so proud of myself. The scriptures I stood on was Luke 1:45 and Psalms 37:4. But long story short, I believed I could and I did by His grace..... yay me! Lol. But if I did it, so can you. Next stop, my doctorate! 😎 Yep, that's it. Lol. Why? Because as long as I am ALIVE, I am WORTHY of anything I desire in my heart. 💜💜💜

​by: La'Toya Sibley

​Everybody has this idea of what the most important thing in the world is to them. Some people will say money. Some people will say family. Some people will even say their career. All of that is great, but there is something even more important and greater than all of these. And that something is Self Love. Here me when I say this, ok (clears throat) .....................

SELF LOVE IS IMPORTANT!!! 

It just is. Amazingly there are a number of people who would put other things far above this and would probably make it optional leaving it up to other people to do. But check this.... loving you should never be an option for you. It is a must. There is nobody on this Earth that can ever love you as good as you can. Plus, we teach people how to love us by the way that we do it. That is why I can't stress enough to JUST DO IT. Just love yourself. 
​
Self love is defined as regard for one's own well-being and happiness. My personal belief is that many people just do not know how to love themselves. What this world needs is more people that are willing to love themselves more and in a much healthier way. This would more than likely cut down on crime, strife, stress, rising divorce rates, racial tensions, suicides and homicides too. Here are 4 things that we all should implement in our lives to help us to be on our way to loving ourselves:

1. Overcome negative beliefs that you've picked up over the years about yourself.
 
2. Avoid perfectionism because it is impossible. 

3. Get rid of that negative filter/view of life and yourself. 
​
4. NEVER call yourself names that do not represent love, peace and joy.

If you do these four things, you are well on your way to loving yourself. Again, loving you should never be an option. It is a must. Listen, we all have flaws. But we have to let that stuff go. We all have something that is not perfect and none of us will ever be perfect. We just have to love what we have with everything within us and push that negativity down. It is not healthy, nor is it cute. Confidence and faith in you is everything. So wear them both like it's nobodies business.  You deserve the love that you pour into everybody else. Give yourself that. If you are already doing these things, then bravo to you. Now share them with your friends and loved ones. 💜💜💜