You are Priya, You are Beloved

Growing up in a predominantly Jewish town in Jersey, I never ran into other Priya’s. Even my childhood best friend from had a Jewish name despite being a Patel. I didn’t mind that at all, but rather pondered why my name was what it was.

“What does Priya even mean?”

When I was 4, my mother scooped me up into her lap and told my a story behind the name. She explained the beauty and grace behind it, ultimately explaining it meant “beloved” in Sanskrit and Hindi.

Years later, i realized that “priya” is something everyone should feel about others and most importantly, about themselves. Self-love, self-acceptance, and self-appreciation should be life lessons we all are born understanding. Twenty years of life and I’ve not only seen others struggle to accept themselves, as if the world isn’t judgmental enough, but I’ve too been figuring it out for myself. Years of self-harm, being told i’m “too slutty”, and far too many judgmental aunties later, I’ve realized and seen to much to give those comments a thought, coming out experiencing a happiness I never thought i would get to see.

Although I still have my entire life ahead of me, I know these are going to be my best years and I’m just here to make the most of it. The pain from all of the abuse, harassment, stalking, and so much more, is something I would never wish upon anyone, and why I want to share a little bit of my thoughts and stories, to hopefully remind you that you’re not to blame nor are you ever alone.

To get to a healthy state of happiness, I learned to love the art in everything. From makeup to hiking, not only do I want this to be a space to share my insights on serious topics and give anecdotes from my life, but I would also love to share all my favorite products, diy’s, and adventures.

The end goal I want for everyone to reach is a state of happiness. I want to share everything that inspires me so that we can all reach the finish line together.