What is self love to you?

Self love to me is making sure I’m the best me I can be at all times meaning that I am being mindful of who I am at all times and never letting anyone or thing take me out of my character and have me do something I won’t regret. It's being able to put my needs before my wants and accepting myself for who I truly am. Embracing and accepting my flaws and all which is hard to do, it’s working on trying to be a better me everyday. I always joke and say who’s gonna love me if I don’t love me and who’s going to truly accept me if I don’t accept me and celebrate me.

How do you practice self love?

Praying. To most people I don’t seem that religious or they don’t see me do it so to them it doesn’t look like it. The best part of that is I pray for me. I practice self love by spending a little bit of everyday even if it’s just for 5 minutes doing something I love. Whether it’s listening to music and singing from the top of my lungs, writing poetry or cooking. Being kind which is something I’m learning to do as a grow older, and celebrating the little things. It’s hard at times especially when suffering from depression and anxiety. There are days I just physically don’t have it together, and I feel like I’m a complete failure but I have my journal to look at. I try to write at least one good thing that has happened during the day to try to help me get it together and on the days I feel like I won’t make it, I go back and read all the good things.

Who or what has taught you about self love in the most meaningful way ?

Knowing that I’m not perfect, and learning to accept me for who I am. I don’t think there is one person in particular who has taught me to love myself but it’s been a group effort, my family my close friends, those who put me down I feed of the energy people feed me. Also learning to be alone! Crying and letting out and all hurt that I may have held inside, and learning to be okay with me and who I am.

What is your passion and what drives your passion?

My passion is writing and helping others find themselves. Especially with young girls and boys. I think that most times we forget that just like we are working to find ourselves, they are working to find themselves as well. We tend to make it seem like what they feel isn’t legit when in fact we’ve been in their positions when we were younger and the little problems we had made our world feel like it was crashing.

Is there anything about you (ethnicity, religion, gender ) that motivates you to pursue your passion?

Absolutely , I am Somali- American Muslim women growing up in the US. I have many strikes against me. Especially with the political climates of today with a specific “politician” saying somalis are dangerous, might join ISIS etc. He adds to stereotypes on not only my ethnicity but also my religion. It may be discouraging to some but to me it’s motivates and pushes me to break all his comments.

Name a quote, saying, book, movie, song lyric that describes your life.

“There’s only one you in the world so be the best you you can be.”.

“Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it. ”– M. Scott Peck

What advice do you have for people who struggle with motivation?

It’s hard to be motivated and stay motivated, but take it one day at a time . You won’t get to where you need to go if you stand still. One step at a time, go at your own pace and don’t worry about what the people around you are doing. It’s also all mental what energy you put out to the world is what you get back, so keep positive vibes. Don’t be afraid to be by yourself to think, talk out loud, let out your pains even if it’s to yourself because you need to be okay with the good, the bad, the ugly within yourself. When you learn the importance of you and your time you’ll be motivated to do whatever it is that you truly want to do.

Muna is also raising money to go on service trip to El Paso, Texas. The Cristo Rey Border Immersion trip will take place in Juarez Mexico from January 12 – 21, 2017. This opportunity would allow me to learn about border issues, through shared learning experiences, work, and prayer. I believe it will be a great opportunity for me to learn about the issues that affect the lives of people living on the border between El Paso, TX and Juarez, Mexico. This once in a lifetime experience would further my passion and career choice during my final semester as an undergraduate. Learn more and donate to her gofundme account by clicking on this link https://www.gofundme.com/a3-munas-border-immersion-trip

Lada: I met Muna during my time at LMC. She was an under class men and so passionate about her work. Her willingness to help and words of advice despite what she was going through always helped me in my times of difficulty. I adore her work with children and how selfless she is and know she will continue to do amazing things. Thank you so much Muna for this powerful interview.