I never understood what the beauty of being who I am was until I discovered my worth and got to know who I am.
You may look at my photo and think to yourself, “wow, she is absolutely beautiful.” Little do you know, that same girl struggled for years hating her dark skin. Hating who she was because people did not want to accept her. She was left feeling insecure about the skin she was in. Let’s take a walk in her shoes, let’s understand her, let’s get to the root of her insecurities and hurt. You never know what someone is going through until they tell their story, so here is mine.
First, I want to let every black girl know, you are absolutely beautiful from the inside out. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. You are worthy to be praised and a unique creation from the Creator of Heaven and Earth. You are worth more than silver and gold, beloved. You are beautiful without the word, “dark” included. You are simply beautiful. You are a beautiful soul because the God who made you did not make any mistakes on you. You are perfect in the eyes of God and in my eyes. Let your melanin, shiny, bright, warm color flourish, beloved. Let Black Girl Magic be your potion because you are beautiful, Black Girl.
I remember at the age of 13, looking in the mirror and asking God why He made me the way I am. I remember asking God why He did not make me lighter..and if I was a mistake. I had suicidal thoughts from the anger that was build up inside of me. I remember walking down the halls in middle school being picked on almost daily because I was not a light as the girls in my home room class and not light enough to hang out with a certain group of friends. I remember getting into fists fights to prove myself to others. I remember going home after school and running to my room crying and wondering why my peers did not like me. Classmates would call me all sorts of names like, gorilla, midnight, blackie, shadow and other terrible names just because I was a dark skinned girl. I felt that I could never date guys as I got into high school. I felt that guys at school would never date me or take me serious in a relationship, I thought they preferred girls with a lighter complexion.
It was pretty terrible being around people who did not accept me, but I am thankful for the people who saw past my skin color and got to know me for me. Listen, beautiful black girl, do not let the words of the ignorant get to you, trust me, some people are just so insecure that they have to pick on you so that they can feel better about themselves. Feeding into the words of negative people will not heal your hurt, nor will it help you in any way. Letting people control your emotions only lets them win, be in control beloved and know and know your WORTH. Never give your power to people, it’s not worth it, but show love because one day that bully will feel bad for what they have done to you. Be proud of who you are, have fun with who you are, embrace your beauty and forgive those who differ. You are one of a kind! Color should not stop you from being the amazing woman that you are.
As I got older, I began to love myself more and more and started to accept myself for who I am. Eventually, the rude comments had less of an impact. Listen beautiful, you want to know why people talk so much about you? It’s because you are important enough to get someone’s attention. You should be honored to be talked out. But how do you respond to the criticism and rude remarks? Tell them, “I do NOT need your approval to know how beautiful I am. Take a look in the mirror sometime and see for yourself, everyone is beautiful no matter how light or dark their skin. Your negative comments don’t move me.” Starting today, walk in boldness, love yourself, compliment yourself daily, and know that there are many people in the world who appreciate you. As for the haters? Let them do their hating job and you smile and wave at them. God made you in His PERFECT image, Jesus PAID the price for you, and you were bought at a HIGH price because you are perfect to Him, beloved, embrace that beauty God blessed you with. Remember: your skin color does not define your beauty, it enhances it. – Black Girl Magic mentality.