BLACK BEAUTY

If you are looking for beauty, look for it in a BLACK WOMAN.
Not even to objectify her, but strip her body.
Remove all the weight and angry stereotypes this world has placed upon her.
Tell her stand still, and see how she still moves.
How her figure sways with strength and dignity.
Watch her feet and her back, how they stand planted strong and beautiful.
Watch her breasts as her chest rises and falls with all the things this world has given her.

Look up beauty in a dictionary not created by Webster and you'll find my Grandmother.
The words will say she is QUEEN and she is everything that holds this family together.
Search for synonyms and find my Mother, whose kindness behooves us all.
Who in some days I search for flaws and can never spot one that isn't the most beautiful imperfection I've ever seen.

It wasn't until recently that I've seen my face in this dictionary.
Maybe I was reading the wrong words this entire time.
Maybe I was looking for pretty, for good enough.
But I tell you, I see it now.
I read this dictionary every day.
BEAUTY. BEAUTY. BEAUTY.

When I see beauty, I see black women.
And when I see black women, I see beauty.
A beauty that cannot be defined by anyone EXCEPT ourselves.

So throw out the labels. They weren't sticking well enough to begin with.
Step out of your boxes. We were not meant to be shaped like this.
Rid yourself of this existence they have given you and search for beauty.
I promise you,
You will find it in BLACK WOMEN.

When "New" You and "Old" You Can No Longer Live In Peace...

What happens? Where do you turn when the hallway between who you were and who you plan to be starts shrinking and all that's left to do is make a decision?

Of one thing I am extremely certain. Growth happens when you're uncomfortable. When being complacent is no longer an option, you change. Now change is a heavy word. In a world built on routine and robot-like existence, the idea of change can be scary. Stepping onto uncharted territory is a leap that will impact your entire life...but it is something I find myself doing more often than not.

Why?

Life is short. Man, life is so short. And when I'm 75 years old I don't want to look back and reminisce on all the things I COULD have done. I want to live. Now. A full life. Of whatever comes with that. If it is struggle, I want that. If it is rejection, I want that. If it is discomfort, I want that. I want a full life, and I want all life has to offer.

It takes time...to realize that this world wasn't built to love us all. It took 21 years for me to understand that my sex and race will always put me at a disadvantage, but when you can no longer accept things for how they are presented to you... you advocate for change. You advocate for justice. You advocate for the progression of your people.

And that is what I'm doing.

Over the past few months, I began to realize that every one is not as "woke" as you want them to be. Just last week my daddy told me, that it's important to not push my awareness on other people. I cannot fault people for being exactly what this world has taught them to be, but I can be an ignition. I can live my life in all of God's light and pray that I spark a flame in your soul. To learn outside of the box. To be uncomfortable. To be scared. To be weary, but to be ready for change.

So what do you do when "new" you and "old" you can no longer live in peace?

You make a choice. FOR YOURSELF. You do what is right for you and where you are in your journey.

For me? I chose and I continuously choose "new" me. I choose to be better than who I was yesterday. I understand that with this choice comes a lot of things you never really asked for. It comes with loosing friends. It comes with people not understanding your choice. It comes, often times, with disappointment. But love, you were not created to please everyone.

So right here, right now, I ask you. Who do you choose? On what path will you continue? Growth, Life is a journey, not a destination.

As always, thank you so much to everyone who continues to read my blog. Thank you for allowing me to share bits and pieces of my life with you. Thank you for your support and love. To all my new readers, WELCOME TO THE FAM. That's what we are around here!

Keep growing y'all. Keep shining. Keep being that ignition.
Stay happy. Stay healthy.
~Naturallykbiggie

Why I Cut My Hair

"It's just something about a woman with short hair that just screams POWER."

I CUT MY HAIR!!
That's right. Not a trim, but a full on hair cut!
I'm a very impulsive person and I was just so tired. That's the only way I can describe it. I was so tired of my hair, of letting it define my beauty, of the hassle.
So, I decided to chop my hair off. I made an appointment for the next day and I did it!

Liberation is not even the word to describe it. To cut off something I've been attached to my entire life. Hot comb after hot comb, perm to natural, to heat damage, to fro, from twist out to twist out I let my hair become a definition of who I was.
I was Kiersten, the tall girl with a fro.
No. I am Kiersten.
And I had to prove to myself how amazing I am without all of the outside circumstances.

India Arie is so right.
"I am not my hair."
Hair is such a huge part of black culture, and it always will be.
I have just decided to be who I am and do what I want to do.
It is crazy how short life is and I'm on a shamless journey to be 100% happy.
So many things are changing in my life and my hair had to go!

People keep asking me why I spent years growing out my natural hair just to cut it off.
Hair is HAIR. And it took me so long to realize that.
I will be the same person whether my fro touches the roof of my car or if it's barely long enough to twist.
People ask will I grow it back out.
Maybe one day, but for now I am loving the beauty and power I find in myself because of my short hair.
I have never felt so beautiful and so happy to just live in my skin.
Shoot I may keep cutting more.
I'm getting scissor and razor happy lol.

The point of this post is to say be who you are and do whatever you want to do!
Don't let what anyone says or thinks change your mind or view on life.
Live and Be Shameless.

Thank you to everyone who continues to support me on my life journey. I could not be here without you! I love you all so much.
Stay Happy. Stay Healthy.
~Naturallykbiggie