When I was in middle school, I hated who I was because I didn't think I was beautiful. Everywhere I looked, all I saw were tall, skinny Caucasian women with strait hair and perfect skin. They were on T.V. and in commercials, in magazines and in movies.
I hated that my lips and cheeks were so full. I hated that my skin was so dark and speckled with imperfections. And I hated that I wasn't twig-thin like the models I had seen in makeup ads. I had never heard of any black actors or actresses. I hardly knew who Barack Obama was. The only famous African Americans I had learned about in school were Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. Is it any wonder I was ashamed of who I was?
Luckily, my mother and grandmother introduced me to celebrities like Naomi Campbell, Tracy Thomas, Carrie Washington, Tyler Perry, Tyra Banks, Viola Davis, Oprah Winfrey, and so many more influential African Americans.
It took a while, but I eventually learned that who I am is nothing to be ashamed of. Beauty is unimportant as long as you appreciate what you've got. I realized that it didn't matter what others thought of me because their approval wouldn't bring any real improvement to my life.
I am telling you this story because I don't think it's right for any boy or girl to feel ashamed just for looking a certain way or for standing out from the crowd.
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