If you thought your 2017 was pretty good, you'll probably find the Year of Serena Williams nothing shy of amazing.
The tennis star won her 23rd Grand Slam (while pregnant!) at the Australian Open, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and married fiancé and Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian. To top the year off, Nike announced in December that one of its newest and biggest headquarter buildings will be named after Ms. Williams herself.
Extending her beast mode, Serena made her way back onto the tennis court to close out the year just three months after the birth of her daughter. The exhibition match played in Abu Dhabi against French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko ended in a loss for Serena after a captivating tie-break.
We've known Serena to be an ultra-competitive creature of pure greatness who doesn't take losing lightly ever since she and big sister Venus made their tennis debut in the 90s. But, the new mom walked away from the match unbothered and optimistic. She said:
"I don't think I'm going to rate my performance. I have plenty of comebacks, from injuries, from surgeries, but I've never had a comeback after actually giving birth to a human being. So, in my eyes, I feel it was a wonderful, wonderful match for me."
As someone who also has a three-month old and often struggles to find time to shower these days, I can say playing in a professional tennis match at all is a win in and of itself. And Serena's attitude towards what could easily be considered a defeating moment is exactly what she and many of us need to be our happiest and healthiest selves.
So often, we find ourselves skipping along a path of perpetual come-ups that becomes suddenly interrupted by a loss, failure, idiot boyfriend, low performance review at work, etc., bringing our world to a saddening halt.
And as women, especially mothers, we subconsciously allow those not-so-awesome moments to overshadow all of the magic we've achieved.
It's crucial to recognize when we become downright too hard on ourselves when a smudge manages to manifest on our picturesque version of life.
I've lost count of how many times I've caught myself chasing "the every area perfect" life trying to keep my relationship, my family, my health and career in infallible tact. I could have total peace in my marriage, be in the best shape ever, have a 12-month streak of no arguing with my mom, but become devastated with a critique at work.
Of course, some level of disappointment in our shortcomings is healthy and certainly motivates us to absolutely slay the next time around, but harping on them is just expending unnecessary energy on a small issue in an overall beautiful state of being and becoming.
Seeing Serena get back to work after giving life gives me life. And seeing her shake off a not-so-perfect performance like plain dust off her shoulders is even more refreshing.
"Knowing that I have won 23 Grand Slam titles and several other titles, I don't think I have anything more left to prove," she said. "But I am not done yet."
"I know that when I come back I definitely want to be competing for championships. I am definitely looking forward to getting back out there. I am taking it one day at a time."
So, she lost her first comeback match? She's in love, enjoying the blessing of a healthy child, and is one of the best tennis players on the planet (not to mention she's practically best friends with Beyoncé).
Her life may not be perfect, and she may not be back in the groove of things career-wise just yet, but Serena is definitely winning in every sense of the word.
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While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Feature image by Leon Bennett/WireImage
