Where did you grow up?

I was born in the Bronx, and spent most of my childhood there. We moved to the woods in Long Island in my teens so I spent a good amount of time there as well.

What is your national Origin?

I am Sicilian (mom) and Haitian (dad). (If only racial identity were as simple as answering this question lol)

What are your favorite plants and animals?

What are some things that you've been insecure about?

Did you learn to embrace these things?

Were you ever bullied?

Any advice do you have for those learning to love themselves?

What things give you the most joy in life?

My favorite plant is the Orange Daylily--these were the plants in the garden outside of my childhood home and it holds some of my best memories. I also love roses.. the name Rose runs in my family and it is my middle name :) Favorite animals are cats..all kinds of cats. I identify with them so heavily... more so than I do most humans lol.

 I'd like to say that I'm completely over my insecurities but who am I kidding. Body-wise I struggle at times to accept my body's tendency to gain muscle very easily and quickly. As a result, I have a wide back and shoulders with very muscular arms. (Essentially what many people call "manly" looking) Some days I feel like a powerful badass, and others not so much. I feel similarly about my "identity" as a biracial red-head actually. About 50% of the time I'm proud of it, and the other 50% of the time I find myself dangerously vulnerable to comparison between myself and other women. Needless to say.. I'm working on it!

I most definitely have made progress in terms of embracing these things--however doing so CONSISTENTLY is what I'm still working on. I think eventually I began to realize how much I admired people who look "unique" or "different." That made accepting my own uniqueness actually really enjoyable. I haven't yet found a way to wake up every day loving myself entirely.. I am very sensitive to energetic fluctuations in my surroundings and I've noticed that my feelings about myself tend to ebb and flow with these fluctuations. That being said I think the key is to find ways to grow stronger in my sense of self. 

I was bullied in jr high and high school, yes. Thankfully I was never really bullied for my appearance. I outcasted my own self based on my appearance more than anything. Rather I was bullied because of how quiet and shy I was. Today, I am somewhat less quiet, however I still pride myself in being the introspective and observant person that I am. 

My advice is to 1. create your own definition of what "beauty" is. One thing I've learned over the past years is that the beauty standard changes every damn day and it's easy to let that make you feel inferior. So decide for yourself and ignore the beauty industry bullshit.  2. find things that exhilarate you. During times that I am feeling particularly insecure, when I get to experience incredible things, I am immediately reminded how small my physical appearance is amidst the greatness of my life. 3. limit your instagram "explore" page time. For real..I know it sounds stupid. But women these days are already bombarded with "beauty this, beauty that" without the addition of our instagram accounts. I have found that my insecurities flare up when I spend more time on the explore page, browsing the thousands of gorgeous, filtered women that I scroll past. I have also found that when I stay away from my explore page.. I really am happier. So close instagram and hug yourself. 

Things that give me joy: pole dancing, my cat, beaches, sweets (food in general), watching surgeries and medical examinations (I have other life dreams of being a doctor), my family, and of course my pole students.