Alicia Keys on self esteem and harassment

Alicia Keys is opening up about a problem many people have: Self-esteem.

In a very candid blog post posted to herwebsite called "A Revelation," the Grammy-winning artist talked about how the way men treated her on the streets of New York affected the way she dressed, acted and even her own self-esteem:

“I started to notice a drastic difference in how men would relate to me if I had on jeans, or if I had on a skirt, or if my hair was done pretty. I could tell the difference, I could feel the animal instinct in them, and it scared me. I didn’t want to be talked to in that way, looked at in that way, whistled after, followed. And so I started hiding. I chose the baggy jeans and timbs, I chose the ponytail and hat, I chose no makeup, no bright color lipstick or pretty dresses. I chose to hide. Pieces at a time. Less trouble that way.”

This problem did not go away as Keys gained fame for her music:

“I became comfortable hiding, my intelligence, my physical appearance, my truths, my thoughts, myself. To this day, every time I get out of the shower to get dressed, I swear the first thought that comes into my head is, what can I wear that won’t cause too much attention when I go pick up Egy, or head to the store, or go shopping, or visit a friend etc."

But recently the singer had the "revelation" she describes in the post's title:

And just the other day it hit me! OMG! Alicia!!! Why are you choosing to be that person?? That is so old and outdated!! STOP!!
‎
You are allowed to be smart
You are allowed to be beautiful
You are allowed to be radical and have strong thoughts that others might not agree with
You are allowed to be tough
You are allowed to be sexy
You are allowed to be bold
You are allowed to be shapely
You are allowed to be kind
You are allowed to be yourself!!

She ended the post with an affirming message referencing her own 28,000 Days:

"I only got 28,000 of those days. So what the (expletive) am I waiting for?? And (expletive) that’s what I’m doing!!!!"