Alexa, Play ‘Waiting to Exhale’ Soundtrack While I Reclaim My Damn Power

A love letter to the women who finally stopped asking for permission.

There’s something magical no, divine that happens when a woman exhales for the first time in years. Not a shallow breath. Not the composed sigh of someone trying to keep it all together. But a full, unfiltered, I’m finally done explaining myself kind of exhale. The kind of breath you take when the weight lifts, when the mask drops, when you step back into your power like it was waiting patiently for you all along.

This one’s for the women who finally stopped asking for permission.

You know who you are. The ones who used to tiptoe. The ones who stayed small to keep the peace. The ones who over-apologized, over-explained, over-delivered, because somewhere along the way, we were told we had to earn our place. That being “too much” would make us unlovable. That our voice needed softening, our ambition needed taming, and our boundaries were negotiable.

But something shifted, didn’t it?

Maybe it was the silence after a heartbreak. Maybe it was a diagnosis, a divorce, a dismissal. Maybe it was the years spent being everything for everyone else while forgetting your own damn name. Or maybe, finally, it was just you waking up one day and realizing: I’m not waiting anymore.

Not for his approval.

Not for her validation.

Not for society to say “now is your time.”

Not for the perfect body, the right relationship, the cleaner calendar.

Because the truth is, no one’s going to hand you a golden ticket to your own life. You have to take it.

And when you do? Oh, when you do—it’s breathtaking. You start dressing how you want. Saying what you mean. Loving like you’ve never been hurt or if you have, with the fierce clarity of someone who knows her worth. You walk into rooms with the kind of confidence that doesn’t shout but commands. You stop shrinking. You stop settling. You stop saying “yes” when your soul is screaming “no.”

You reclaim your damn power.

And you do it with a soundtrack. Maybe it’s Whitney telling you to count on yourself. Maybe it’s Mary J. reminding you not gon’ cry. Maybe it’s the smooth burn of Toni Braxton echoing your strength through every note. Because the ‘Waiting to Exhale’ soundtrack isn’t just music it’s a mood, a memory, a movement.

So, to the woman reading this who is halfway there this is your nudge. Your blessing. Your rally cry.

Stop asking for permission to be who you already are.

Stop waiting for someone to tell you you’re enough.

Stop delaying the joy that is your birthright.

You were never meant to be background noise. You are the whole damn story.

So take a breath, beautiful. Deep and full.

Exhale.

And let the world adjust to you.

Love always,

Another woman who finally remembered her own power.

P.S. Alexa, turn it up.