

“The BIC® Soleil® Make Your Own Sun® campaign is all about finding the bright side in any situation, which is what I learned on my journey of learning to love who I am.”
Beauty is only skin deep.
I made a conscious decision to Make My Own Sun by joining #teamnomakeup at a young age which meant fully embracing my imperfections. It is a practice I still uphold to this day. I own the flaws I have as essential parts of me and reinforce the uncoventional by saying I'm beautiful. I’ve always looked at myself in the mirror and said, “You’re beautiful” because I always knew I was. It might have taken a few years to get to that undeniable self-assured "I'm beautiful", but I got there, I loved it, and so I stay, support, and repeat. But even with all that practice, confidence, and self-assuredness, I definitely do have my moments (and days) where I feel inadequate and have my doubts. I force myself to see the bright side of my beauty, and bring the beauty within to the surface by reigniting my happy.
[Tweet "Bring the beauty that you have within to the surface by embracing your happy."]
Here are 5 ways I remind myself that I’m beautiful every day:
I listen to my favorite songs.
Music in general is a vessel for emotions. If you want to cry, there is music for that. If you want to be angry, there is music for that. If you want to be happy and dance until the end of time, there is definitely music for that. I think that is why it is such a universally loved art form. There is something exhilarating, refreshing, and carefree about rocking out to your favorite tunes.
When I am radiating joy and busting out some dance moves to my favorite divas, I am reminded that I’m beautiful.
I pamper myself.
This is a go-to for most people, but it’s true what they say: When you look good, you feel good. I can’t tell you how many times a bad day started with not feeling the way my afro turned out or not liking the top I paired with my pencil skirt. Pampering can be factored into your day-to-day in different ways. Set aside a Sunday and dedicate it to getting your nails done, doing your hair, or giving yourself a facial. I like taking long showers, indulging myself in the hot steam, washing my face underneath the running water as I listen to music, exfoliating my skin with my favorite coffee scrub, and spending a little extra time getting those flawlessly smooth legs. A little more “me” time in the shower leaves me feeling extra confident all day long.
When I unwind and dial down from my day or dial up to start my day, I am reminded of how beautiful I am.
I honor my body.
I like to do something physical at some point during my day. It helps me stay in tune with my body and is my way of taking care of it and my health. I do my best to drink 2-3 liters of water per day and try to eat as many fruits and veggies as possible. If I do junk, I try to do so sparingly and find that there is a difference in how I feel, how clear my skin is, and how much I glow when I am doing what I can to support my health.
When I am healthy, I am reminded of how beautiful I am.
I honor my spirit.
Whether I decide to pick up a book on self-help or poetry, I do what I can to fulfill my spiritual needs. I prefer to do this through reading because of how deeply connected I am with it by way of my passions. I also pray throughout the day, give thanks, and try to update my #anotetoself meditation journal every morning to start my day on a positive note. To reinforce that, I also meditate while holding my citrine healing stones that are known for their properties of cultivating abundance and prosperity.
When I am centered, I am reminded of my beauty.
I remind myself through telling myself.
I give myself words and mantras that echo the encouragement that I try to give myself physically. Whether it means telling myself “You’re beautiful” or “Damn, I look good!”, the intent is all about reaffirming that I am the key to any validation I might feel I could possibly be needing. It might not even mean me saying it aloud, it could just be me lingering in the mirror as I rub almond oil onto my face in the morning. My eyes are glued to the shape of my lips, my nose, my eyes – and I think to myself, “Yes.”
When I empower myself, I am reminded that I’m beautiful.
[Tweet "I am the key to any validation I might feel I could possibly be needing."]
Contrary to popular belief, I don’t wake up like this. It takes a village to raise a Queen. And for me, that means constantly doing things that reinforce the kind of beauty I wish to reflect and embody.
What are ways you remind yourself of your beauty daily? Share your self-care rituals and how you find the bright side with me below!
Adrian Marcel On Purpose, Sacrifice, And The 'Signs Of Life'
In this week's episode of xoMAN, host Kiara Walker talked with R&B artist Adrian Marcel, who opened up, full of heart and authenticity, about his personal evolution. He discussed his days transitioning from a young Bay Area singer on the come-up to becoming a grounded husband and father of four.
With honesty and introspection, Marcel reflected on how life, love, and loss have shaped the man he is today.
On ‘Life’s Subtle Signals’
Much of the conversation centered around purpose, sacrifice, and listening to life’s subtle signals. “I think that you really have to pay attention to the signs of life,” Marcel said. “Because as much as we need to make money, we are not necessarily on this Earth for that sole purpose, you know what I mean?” While he acknowledged his ambitions, adding, “that is not me saying at all I’m not trying to ball out,” he emphasized that fulfillment goes deeper.
“We are here to be happy. We are here [to] fulfill a purpose that we are put on here for.”
On Passion vs. Survival
Adrian spoke candidly about the tension between passion and survival, describing how hardship can sometimes point us away from misaligned paths. “If you find it’s constantly hurting you… that’s telling you something. That’s telling you that you’re going outside of your purpose.”
Marcel’s path hasn’t been without detours. A promising athlete in his youth, he recalled, “Early on in my career, I was still doing sports… I was good… I had a scholarship.” An injury changed everything. “My femur broke. Hence why I always say, you know, I’m gonna keep you hip like a femur.” After the injury, he pivoted to explore other careers, including teaching and corporate jobs.
“It just did not get me—even with any success that happened in anything—those times, back then, I was so unhappy. And you know, to a different degree. Like not just like, ‘I really want to be a singer so that’s why I’m unhappy.’ Nah, it was like, it was not fulfilling me in any form or fashion.”
On Connection Between Pursuing Music & Fatherhood
He recalled performing old-school songs at age 12 to impress girls, then his father challenged him: “You can lie to these girls all you want, but you're really just lying to yourself. You ain't growing.” That push led him to the piano—and eventually, to his truth. “Music is my love,” Marcel affirmed. “I wouldn’t be a happy husband if I was here trying to do anything else just to appease her [his wife].”
Want more real talk from xoMAN? Catch the full audio episodes every Tuesday on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and don’t miss the full video drops every Wednesday on YouTube. Hit follow, subscribe, and stay tapped in.
Featured image by xoNecole/YouTube
How A Group Chat Became A Game-Changer For Empowering Black Professionals In Sports
In 2016, Shaina Wiel started a simple group chat with friends and colleagues in the New York sports industry. What began as a space for professionals of color in sports to share resources and opportunities blossomed into the Minorities in Sports Business Network, a thriving community of more than 1,000 members and a full-fledged company shaping the future of sports business.
Shaina, who has held roles at companies including ESPN and the NBA and has taught strategic sports marketing at esteemed institutions like Georgetown University, officially launched the network as a business in 2019. Since then, it’s hosted high-impact events like the Toast to Black Sports luncheon during Super Bowl weekend and built student chapters at both HBCUs and PWIs to pipeline underrepresented talent into the industry.
She shared with xoNecole more on the early days of launch, the turning point that made her realize she had a platform with real influence, and what keeps her going. With 17 years of experience across agencies, teams, and networks, Shaina is proof that grassroots efforts can turn into transformative change—especially when backed by passion, vision, and community.
xoNecole: How did the Minorities In Sports Business Network come to life?
Shaina Wiel: So, I just started the group chat and added a few of my friends who work in the industry as well. We were all kind of in New York at the same time working in the sports space… Very quickly over the next few years, the chat grew to over 800 individuals within the chat. Then, we had over 1000 individuals.
xoN: What was your ‘aha’ moment to expand?
SW: I noticed a bunch of employees from the Big Four leagues— NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB— within my group chat had all started posting roles. And when I asked, 'What is going on? Why are there so many posting jobs within the group chat?' I was told that HR had sent a note to their Black Employee Resource Group and had told them they had heard about this group chat.
That's when I realized, ‘Okay, this is more than, you know, my little friend group chat. Let's see if we can turn this into an actual business. And then in summer, 2019 I decided to do this full time.
Brittany Dacoff
xoN: What was the transition like growing the group chat into a full platform offering membership perks like access to job listings, networking opportunities and more?
SW: I was working at an agency, and the agency had lost their account. It was the account that I was working on. So they were like, you know, we can try to find another or we can separate. I decided to leave. And then, as we know, COVID happened, which actually was a blessing in disguise.
I was able to really focus on building the vision with this group chat and turning it into an actual company, seeing what works, seeing things from an events and a relationship standpoint, in terms of like, how we were interacting with different partners from different companies, and actually turning that into something substantial that could last.
xoN: Speaking of events, talk more about what inspired the Toast to Black Sports event you held earlier this year during the Super Bowl. Why is it important?
SW: This was the second year. There are so many dope people of color, specifically Black people, who work in this industry who are just doing the work behind the scenes. They’re not getting their flowers. I took it upon myself to say, I want to celebrate you. We’ve honored Kimberly Fields, Esq. of the NFL, Kevin Warren, CEO of the Chicago Bears, sports executive Jason Wright, sports and entertainment vet Carmen Green-Wilson, and NFL coach Jennifer King—all of whom have made major contributions to the industry.
xoN: What do you enjoy most about your role today?
SW: I think the work that I enjoy the most, honestly, is with our college students. We have 12 chapters across different colleges and universities. We help eliminate some of the barriers a lot of us had coming out of college. What I love seeing is that we have students who are now looking at roles they never even thought of.
xoN: What’s a bit of career advice for women breaking into the sports industry?
SW: I would say, build relationships. That’s really it: Build authentic relationships. Make sure it's a give and take and that you're supporting other people because once you're building those relationships, then it's a lot easier to either get into a space or to have those conversations when you want to do something.
And always be willing and ready to do the work.
Featured image by Hosea Johnson