Growing up as a tall Black girl from the projects in Buffalo, NY, I faced many challenges. I was teased for my height, for being too skinny, having short hair, and for lacking a certain level of swag. I was called ugly, weird, lanky, and the name that hurt the most—giraffe.

This association weighed heavily on my already fragile self-esteem and even affected my posture. To avoid the teasing, I would contort myself to appear smaller and shorter.

But then something liberating happened. Listen as I share how my lens was shifted from a position of lack to abundance.