I’ve done a lot of empowerment sessions over the years — and most of the time, they’re messy, raw, and cathartic. We write words on our bodies. We paint. We shatter plates. We release. We reclaim.

But this time, I wanted to try something different.

For my 4th year free community body image event, I stripped everything back. No paint. No markers all over skin. No theatrics. Just mirrors. Just truth. Just us.

We started with reflection….literally. Each person faced themselves. Not just the flattering angles, not just the Instagram worthy poses. But also the parts we usually hide. The rolls. The scars. The stretch marks. The softness.

Then, I handed out shards of mirror.

Because isn’t that how most of us have been taught to see ourselves?
In fragments.
Not whole.
Not enough.

We carry pieces …. insults from the past, judgments from strangers, comparisons from family, rules from systems that were never built for us. And we mistake those pieces for the truth.

But here’s the thing….even a broken shard still reflects light.
And so do you.

On their shard, every person wrote one word they were reclaiming.
“Worthy.”
“Enough.”
“Bold.”
“Free.”
“Soft.”
“Worthy of love.”

And then we stood together. A community of people holding the sharp pieces of reflection that once hurt us, but now carried our power.

It wasn’t messy. But it was still raw. It was still sacred. And it was still transformative.

This event reminded me of something I want every single person to take with them –

You are not the insult. You are not the shame. You are not the fragments.

You are the whole damn mirror.

Not broken.
Not less.
Not invisible.

You are art.