A few months ago, I was introduced to a book that completely changed my life. I gained a new perspective on family, relationships, hardships and loving myself. This book of poetry is a guide on surviving every difficult task a woman may face. The book’s advice? Find the sweetness in every situation. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur is poignant and heart-felt. From our relationships with our mother and father, our first love and ourselves, Kaur shows women how we are beautiful, resilient, strong and incredible beings. It is often easy, especially as a young college student, to feel overwhelmed with stress. It is easy to go through a break up and feel alone and sad. It is easy to feel misguided when losing an internship opportunity. Milk and Honey reminds us, “…it feels like tomorrow will never come and today will be the most difficult day to get through but I swear you will get through, the hurt will pass as it always does…”
Being a new student at the University of Cincinnati, I felt extremely lonely and lost. Kaur reminded me “loneliness is a sign you are in desperate need of yourself.” Instead of focusing on being the most social girl at the party or finding a cute single boy, I focused on bettering myself. Aiming for a 4.0, getting a new internship, joining two new academic clubs, and doing the things I love, like writing, led me to being completely happy and unafraid of my future here at my new school (Go Bearcats!)
Kaur tackles deep issues and painful topics by reminding women we go through these things to grow and learn from them. We only get stronger. Your boyfriend dumped you? Kaur explains, “you were a dragon long before he came around and said you could fly.” This is simple, but important! We seem to forget our best qualities and that we can stand tall on our own! Remind your family and best friends of how much you love them always, because at the end of the day all we have is our love and connections. “I am sending my love to your eyes. May they always see goodness in people. May you always practice kindness.” Every woman, especially my fellow college students, should read Milk and Honey (and prepare themselves for tears).