Sticks and Stones and Don't Be a Bully

OK people like I have said before I am really big on self love, being positive and uplifting to others.  This is a big reason why I share my fitness journey and started this blog. I hope that I can inspire someone to do what they thought they could not do.  I am so thankful for the positive feedback that I get from people who encourage me.  With that said, I know that everyone will not agree with my lifestyle and is entitled to their opinion.  I wanted to share with you an example of a disagreeing opinion and my response to it. 

Background info: I posted the picture below on my fan page after my haircut and blowout I received to prepare for my graduation. A person whom I do not know nor share any ties with decided to comment and say Ewwww I look like a man.

So does this mean a man with less muscle than me looks like a woman? I thought as I laughed at her comment.  Now I responded to her and avoided bashing her because I seriously looked at this as a teaching/learning moment.  I have no children of my own, but I have nieces and nephews who I will give my life for and I will always make the greatest attempt to put my best foot forward especially with some of my nieces having social media accounts.  The positives I take out of this situation are the following:

• Exposure. I do not know this woman, but somehow my page reached her meaning my page is growing and my name is getting out there and can open me up for positive opportunities such as sponsorship.

• I matter.  Someone took the time out of their day to talk about me.  Whether it was good or bad. I meant enough to be their subject. This is to be expected because of what I do. I want my page to grow to the point those negative comments get buried in the positive.

• Growth and God's timing. I have grown spiritually. The old me would have said some horrible things to her and put her on display with her name so that others could give her a taste of her own medicine LOL. She made this comment initially on my graduation day. I thank God for not allowing me to see it at that point in time.  This prevented any attempts the devil made to spoil the celebration of my academic achievement.

• Stand up for yourself. You can stand up for yourself and not sink to the other person's level.  I will sleep well knowing I did not have to make myself feel better by attacking someone else. Below is her response after I called her out:

I have accepted her apology though it came 5 days after her comment and contradicted her initial comment.  She had plenty of time to delete it even before I saw it.  Again I think this was an opportunity for me to prepare for what's going to come in the future as well as be a teaching moment for all who will see this post.  Depending on the person, this can be viewed as a form of cyber bullying.  Which is not acceptable in any way.  Yes adults have to deal with immature behavior as well. I did not make my body this way to please her or anyone else.  I am thankful I am marrying a man that loves everything about me. I am thankful I am whole enough of a woman that this will not in any way break my spirits.  Women we have to do better to uplift each other and leave the cattiness behind.

Please share this post in hopes that this can be a bright spot in someone's day.