Girl, Wash Your Face.

Just Abby
May 1, 2020
6 min read

Girl, Wash Your Face. No, seriously, wash your face. This may seem like a given, but it's surprisingly something I'm having to remind myself of during this quarantine (you know, when I've lost track of the day, the last time I fully washed my hair, and the last time I actually completed the multi-step skin care routine I've been trying to adopt) #justquarantinethings, am I right?

During this time of social distancing as I quarantine at home and try not to lose my mind, I am trying to be intentional with my time and do things my normal go-go-go life doesn't really allow. For a bibliophile like myself, that means putting more time into reading the stack of books piling up on my bedside table (and no, I'm not talking about nursing school textbooks for once!!).

My latest read, Girl Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis, will go down as one of the most influential books I have read thus far in my 22 years of life. I had seen this book floating around on friends social media accounts for months, but was skeptical on reading a motivational lifestyle book, as my go-to is normally young adult fiction/contemporary romance. I finally bought his book on a whim, and let me tell y'all, BEST IMPULSIVE DECISION EVER. Since I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you read this book on your own (so you can discover some of the Hollis wisdom treasure in your own reading time and soak in her beautiful words verbatim), I'm not going to share with you all of my favorite parts (aka the whole book, but that's beside the point). But, since the takeaways from this book inspired me to finally do the damn thing and create + publish this blog, I want to share with you the important messages I took away, in hopes that they will resonate with you or pique your interest enough to move you in the direction of reading this book, so you too can be one step closer to who you are meant to be (Rachel's words, not mine, but VERY TRUE).

Mind you, I could go on for pages about this woman, her words, and the lessons I learned, but I'll keep it short and sweet for ya. Feel free to read this out loud to yourself and let yourself embody the "I". :)

I choose my own happiness and I have control over my own life. Like Rachel, I believe in the marrow of my bones that God is in control, that He has a plan for my life, and that He loves us all unconditionally. "But, I don't think that means we get to squander the gifts and talents He's given us simply because we're good enough already... If a caterpillar just decided that good is good enough, we would all miss out on the beautiful creature she would become". I AM MORE THAN I HAVE BECOME.
If I make the choice to be happy, fulfilled, and grateful every single day, regardless of the circumstances I may face (easier said than done), I will be happy. When I choose to enjoy my life, it doesn't matter where I am or what negative things get hurled at me. I will still find happiness because it's not about where I am but who I am.
My words have power, but my actions shape my life. It's all about intentionality. I can't keep every commitment, goal, promise, or plan without realizing that my words have power and my commitments carry covenant weight. I will slow down my yeses and stick to the commitments I make to others and myself.
As long as I allow someone to treat me badly, they will continue to treat me badly. If I am not able to VALUE myself, no one else will either. "Sometimes choosing to walk away, even if it means breaking your own heart, can be the greatest act of self love you have access to".
PERCEPTION means we don't see things as they are; we see things as we are. What if life isn't happening to me? "What if the hard stuff, the amazing stuff, the love, the joy, the hope, the fear, the weird stuff, the funny stuff, the stuffy that takes me so low I'm lying on the floor crying and thinking, How did I get here?" What is none of it is happening to me? What if all of it is happening for me?
Nobody will ever care about my dream as much as I will. Even with the best support system ever, they will not want it as much as I do. Why? "It doesn't keep them up at night. It doesn't light their soul on fire. It is MY dream."
I am allowed to chase my dreams because I am worthy of wanting something more. I am allowed to be audacious and relentless in the pursuit of my dreams, regardless of what others say or what gets in my way.
God has perfect timing. When I think of the goals I thought I would have accomplished but haven't yet, I will fight the unworthy feelings. Maybe that goal wasn't ever meant for me and I'm destined for better. Maybe I have to walk through this season to be ready for it. "Whether or not I choose to see this time as something wonderful -- the time when God is stretching me... growing me... forging me in fires hotter than I think I can withstand -- all of it is growing me for the person I am becoming, for a future I can't even imagine".
Faith: the belief that my life will unfold as it was meant to, even when it unfolds into something painful and difficult to navigate. By not being where I think I should be, I will end up exactly where I'm meant to go.
Someone else's opinion of me is none of my business.
My Creator loves me just as I am, but He gave me a body with all of its strength, and its weaknesses, as a gift. "It is an offense to your soul to continue to treat yourself so badly". I will stop justifying bad decisions. As I have chosen to stay where I am for so long, I will CHOOSE to get myself out.
"I don't need to find anyone. Right now, in this moment, I am my own hero." The greatest lesson I can give to myself and others is: Only YOU have the power to change your life. WE have the ability to change our lives. You, me, all of our God-given strength, and our desire for change.
I will be honest about who I am.
I will be who and what I need to make the changes I want to see in my life.
I will get ahold of my life.
I will stop giving pieces of myself away.
I will stop saying I can't.
I will stop crying about what happened.
I will take control of what happens next.
I will RISE UP from where I have been.

I will scrub away the tears and pain of yesterday, and

I will wash my face.

Still with me? I hope so. If you've made it this far, I hope you're feeling inspired. I hope you're feeling empowered. Thanks to our wonderful Creator we have so much potential, and we haven't even scratched the surface y'all! What a beautiful thought. I encourage you to take a moment to think about all the things happening for you (not to you) at the moment. Take a moment to be grateful for all the beautiful unknowns already laid out in your future. Although we may not know what lies ahead, I find comfort in this season of the unknown by leaning on the One who knows more than the unknown, and I hope you will too.

To end,