Self-Care
By: Arianna Dear
People might not get a chance to see
All the times I take care of me
Considering how crazy life can be
I might go on a run in the neighborhood
Or find a funny movie that’s good
‘Case that’s what I enjoy to do
I take life by the horns to make sure I am alright
And that nothing shady towards me is out of sight.

Love Letter to Self
By: Kaiah Hicks

Dear Beautiful,
Hey there, I just wanted to let you know that you are beautiful,smart, brave, strong, and you can do anything you put your mind to.Do not let anyone tell you that you are not good enough. And definitely, do not let anyone judge you quickly or have any type of opinion towards you because of your skin color. Your hair is just as unique and fashionable as any model on a magazine. You have your own style, and you own it! Remember to always love yourself. You are beautiful on the inside and out.
I love you,

I Choose Me: A Self-Love Essay
By: Toniyah Taylor

After camp with Rise Sister Rise, I saw self-care in an entirely new light. I had previously always thought of self-care as getting your nails done, going to the salon, or even buying new clothes. But I did not realize that self-care is simply at the act of doing whatever makes you feel good. That self-care is whatever you may discover fitting if it contributes positively to your being and life journey. And within a few
camp sessions, my perception, as well as my methods of self-care, was thoroughly renovated.

There is a quote by the celebrated Maya Angelou that says, “The real difficulty is to overcome how you think about yourself.” And one thing I uncovered during camp about self-care, is you must remove all expectations of yourself so you can live by with what makes you happy. Even if it means hugging yourself as tight as you can, to reinstate in one of the many possible routes that you love your body, which leads
me to another learned method of self-care, affirmations. An affirmation is an act of affirming yourself, which can look remarkably diverse. I have had a previouspractice of practicing affirmations, but I had not referred to it as a method of selfcare until Camp Got Your Back. Another habit I did not realize was a method of selfcare was journaling. Journaling is another thing I had experience with, but I never thought that me expressing my thoughts onto paper was self-care. But Camp Got Your Back showed me that it is the act of releasing your thoughts and your emotions
that can, in many ways, be healing.

So, learning about the different methods of self-care allowed me to realize some of the styles I had unknowingly been utilizing to take care of myself. Such as, painting my nails, doing my hair, journaling, affirmations and being kind to myself. But it also allowed me to recognize the many ways I didn’t realize were forms of self-care, which can be any of the following things: hugging yourself, cooking a healthy meal, talking to yourself in the mirror, making collages, listening to inspirational music, learning when to relax, giving a compliment to someone, acknowledging your love
for your body as you apply lotion, reading, drinking tea, writing letters to yourself, and many more different things. All of these are incredible methods I learned while attending Camp Got Your Back, and they further inspired me to embrace my black girl magic. Considering our world today and often the lack of love within myself as a black girl, throughout the entire Camp Got Your Back, they encouraged and reminded me that self-love truly is the best love.