I can count on one hand the times someone has paid me the compliment: You’re glowing (and not because I was pregnant).

Recently, I heard this compliment and I literally thanked the person and did a lil’ unapologetic jig right in front of her. It was all looking up! The week prior, I was mistaken for a student by a FAFSA worker 😀 …still basking in that!

Before I move on, I am not pregnant…just thought I should clarify. 🙄

Anyway, I jigged because I agree to the glow. I have been working hard for the glow…dieting, exercising, re-evluating areas in my life, owning my errors, and embracing any do-over the Lord gifts me with.

While I have a lot more glowing up to do, these 3 things have surely played signifcant roles thus far in my 3rd baby postpartum glow up:

1. Omega 3s. I have been eating baked fish and veggies every day for lunch now for 3 months. It required much discipline at first, but has become a transformative regimen that I genuinely look forward to every day. No doubt, 5 servings of baked or grilled fish a week has me looking like a new human. I owe it to the fish!

2. Nutra Burst. My sister recommended this liquid vitamin. I’ve be taking it for about 3 weeks now and I love it! It has a lot of benefits, but has clearly helped in boosting my energy, improving my mental strength, and making me feel overall amazing! Check out the various products here!

3. Phenylethylamine (PEA) also known as the “Love Chemical”. According to Google, “being in a happy relationship gives your skin cells nutrients and oxygen to make you look physically younger.” I am happily married, and I am happy to have the same (if not a deeper) romantic chemistry with my man that I felt in high school when we were falling in (young) love.

From the food we eat, to the positive energy we give off, and the fire we make with our soulmate, I am learning that this glow up journey is rooted in commitment…and like all joyful things, thrives on self-care.

It’s so much more than a “healthy skin” thing– the glow. Glowing up is absolutely taking good care of your body, mind, and spirit. And before you know it, you will have activated the long term, long overdue, beam. ❤

Clinnesha is a writer, wife, mom, meta-artist, and social entrepreneur who feels most accountable to southern, black citizen-artists, elders, children, and families. Her work is at the intersection of arts, culture, innovation, and community.