“I do struggle with comparing myself to others, but really I struggle the most with comparing myself with how I used to be. Before Carter, I was a twig. Obviously now I’ve gained weight. I try to put on this confident, secure façade, but I’m not that at all. Even on the way to do this I was on the phone with a friend panicking. I was saying, ‘He’s not going to shoot it from the right angle, and I’m going to look fat.’

Really, I’m not sure why I’m so worried about other people seeing a picture of me. Nine times out of 10, they’re going to see it for a millisecond and scroll right past. My friends and I made a resolution for 2021 to just love ourselves. Stop retaking the same photo 45 times until everyone feels like they like it.”

“Being a woman and being half black, I’ve learned so much from the times we’re in. I mean, I knew things weren’t equal racially or with gender, but I didn’t really care. Unless someone was calling someone else the ‘n word’ in the street, I didn’t really think about it. But now it’s all I think about. I’ve tried to talk to Carter about it and teach him. It’s easy to teach a 6-year-old these things because it’s so black and white, so right and wrong. It’s helped me, too.”

“I’m trying to slow down. Everything goes so fast. Even the quarantine time went so fast, and it keeps going faster and faster. I just want to live in the moment for a bit and not worry about getting to the next place.”

“I’ve changed a lot. Before Carter, I was kind of wild. Really wild, actually. He’s 6 years old now, and he’s more like my friend. We can have actual conversations. People ask what my biggest fears are. I’m not afraid of anything except losing him. My whole world is him.”

“When I think of the word ‘woman’, I think of my mom. She’s strong, independent. They seem like such basic words, but that’s what she is. That’s what comes to my mind when I think of a woman.”