Devri Velazquez

Writer, Digital Creative, and Rare Disease Survivor

"When I was 20 years old, I was diagnosed with a rare disease that has no cure. It devastated me so much. More than the physical limitations I experienced in the first few years of my diagnosis, my mental health was rocked. It was important for me to root myself in my faith and spirituality so I didn't lose my mind. I did not like myself at all, but years later after my illness went into remission and I could go back to work, I gained my confidence back.

"I put one foot in front of the other and had to realize that this was my new normal, and if I still wanted to succeed in whatever I envisioned for my life, then I needed to stop spending so much energy pitying myself and instead, navigate the obstacles in the best way I could."

"Whenever I see something in my life, I manifest it and work towards a goal to make it a reality. I've moved across the country twice with no savings, no friends, nothing to my name but my ambition. I take a lot of pride in trusting my intuition and forging my path a lot of times even when my decisions were unpopular or seemed unrealistic."

Tanika Lambert

Athleisurewear Designer

"I overcame challenges because I had to ask myself hard questions. The one question I had to ask myself was, 'What do I want?' When I finally answered this question, more opportunities began to open up for me.

"I'm living life on my terms by, doing the things that matter to me. I found that being intentional with what I want and what goals I want to accomplish helped me a lot."

"Self-love, acceptance, and understanding has helped me with outside relationships because now I know what people I want around me. I want positive people around me that will elevate and motivate me."

Courtney Richardson

Creative Strategist for Paper Magazine and founder of Do It For The Brand

"Growing up Black and being a woman is a challenge within itself. When you grow up as such, society tells you that you're not worthy, that you're less than, and that you don't matter. Whether it's the lack of representation in entertainment or the systematic barriers that are set up to hold people like me back due to race and gender, it's easy to be on the sidelines. So, I wasn't always the main character in my own life growing up due to how society saw (and still sees) people that look like me. But it became so exhausting that I got tired of being tired.

"In my early twenties, I decided it was much easier to love who I was and steep in that joy than it was to not. And at the same time, for many who look like me, there's also an innate form of resilience by being a woman and a Black woman at that. By being such, I've been able to come into my own by embracing the gifts of being a Black woman and defying what society negates me to be."

"A while ago, I made a non-negotiable contract within myself that contain terms like:

• I refuse to put energy into things that don't light me up.
• My joy is my joy and no one else's.
• The only time I'll sleep on myself is when I have to get rest.
• Recharge but also refuse to have any apologies about doing so.

"By living life by my own set of terms, I can hold myself to be accountable to my measure of greatness, growth, and gratitude."

Ty-Michelle

DJ and CEO of #ZenitudeShop

"What has helped me become comfortable with my whole self is fully accepting my flaws. I think we all strive to be a perfect model of ourselves but the reality is, there is no such thing as perfect. I've reached a place where I now fully understand the concept of duality and how important it is for us to honor both the light and dark sides of who we are.

"Once I began living in the space of honoring my mistakes instead of running and hiding from them, I began to settle into my true self."

"I wake up every single day and do what I want. If I need a rest, I take it. If I feel like I need a spa day, I plan one. Most importantly I don't let other people dictate what my life should look like or let opinions from outsiders get to me. We only get one run at this. I do what makes me happy and let God worry about the rest."

Are you a member of our insiders squad? Join us in the xoTribe Members Community today!