… “we wouldn’t play with you!” The taunters spluttered out. But why? The girl ask. “You look different, you are brown!” They said. “Yes, I am brown and I am very beautiful, my shade is as a result of Melanin. Moreover this is how my maker made me, I had no say in it”. Apparently they have never heard of Melanin. “Why don’t you read up on it?” She challenged. Melanin is a good thing, it is an effective absorbent of light, the pigment is able to dissipate over 99.9% of absorbed UV radiation. Melanin is thought to protect skin cells from UVB radiation damage, reducing the risk of cancer … It was getting too heavy for them.
“Your shape is different, girls are suppose to look like us at this age!” They continued. “No, girls come in different shape and size! She told them. ” I have bum, I have thigns, I have tummy, I have strong muscles, I am tall, I am shapely, I eat well. I am strong, I am fit, it is in my genes! Again this is how my maker made me, I have no say in it, but I love me. I look more like Serena Williams than I look like Venus or Shaparova, they are all strong and beautiful women”.
“But, your hair…” they started. “My hair is the best thing about me” she replied. “My hair is curly, it is kinky, it has coils, it has life, it has depth, it has strength, it stands straight on my head and pay homage to its maker. I can braid it, I can twist it, I can weave it, I can put extension on it or I can leave it as afro, I love my hair, it is my glory!”
With nothing left to say, they blurted out in frustration, “but you are common, you don’t have our manners, your lips, neither of them, neither the top or the bottom is stiff, they move! You are expressive, you have soul, you are confident, you do not have the external fineries that we have, you do not have the sense of entitlement that our heritage bestows on us, we are of a finer breed, a superior one!”
Really? The girl quipped. “Common is when you look down on another human being. Common is when you consider that the worth of a human being is based on the frivolities of life and externalities. Common is when you have no manners, and manner is a person’s outward bearing or way of behaving towards others. Common is unkind. Unkind, I am not. Uncommon I am! I am a rare gem that will forever sparkle!”
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Beautiful Ivory 