“My abortion. I’m still processing a lot of shame around that, but I feel like it’s really important, given our political climate. You’re not supposed to talk about it, especially publicly.  It’s disenfranchised grief. Just having words for the way you feel is so helpful. But it also has to do with the fact that we’re not widely given access to an idea like that, because we’re supposed to feel bad about this, for the rest of my life and beyond. I’m done apologizing because I’m human. And I feel that, even though it was a very painful decision, it was the right decision.”

JAMELIA / 35 yrs / Los Angeles, CA (via Jamaica) / Yoga Pro / @yogihustle / www.yogihustle.com

“I hope I’m done apologizing for not accommodating for others. What I mean is that, while I want to be a part of things with others, I don’t want to accommodate my whole life for those things. I don’t want to be completely selfish. But I’m also done apologizing for it.”

ANNA / 40 yrs / Los Angeles, CA (via Minneapolis, MN) / Motion Picture Locations Manager / @annacoats

“Not being enough. So fuck that. Not being enough of everything. And for everybody. Not being the best at work or in a relationship or with family, everything. I am enough, that’s the thing. But I’m done apologizing for people who think I’m not enough. In my work, I’m dealing with humanity, and I carry a lot. But somehow the magic comes through at the end. It does, you do know that, because it’s sitting right here.”

MEERA / 36 yrs / Burbank CA (3rd generation Kenyan Nairobi) / Speechwriter and Comedian / @manekmonday / www.manekmonday.com

“I’m done apologizing that I’m not okay being mediocre. I’m done apologizing that the things which are important to other people may not be important to me. And that’s okay because it’s not my definition of what I want to be doing. I feel a really good pressure to doing something important with the next phase of my life, and a lot of people don’t understand what that means or what it demands of me. And so when I say to people, ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘I don’t want to do this’ or ‘I don’t have time for this’ because I’m focused on these other goals… I’m done apologizing if they don’t understand it.”

BERNADETTE / 40 yrs / Minneapolis, MN / Photojournalist / @dettesnaps / Photo credit: @annacoats