Growing up black AND tall has shown me a different view of the world. It wasn't until I got to high school when I realized what this one kid meant when he told me he didn't like the way my hair looked.
Picture day was a very special day for me. My mom made my hair look so pretty, and I had on my favorite top and I felt great! Because my hair is naturally curly and frizzy, everytime we went outside for class or recess, my hair frizzed up! I still thought my hair looked great though. Great enough for me to approach my crush! Yikes! So there he was, on the playground and alone. I walked over to him and I told him I thought he was really cute. He then says, "I don't like the way your hair looks...". I went into the tunnel slide and cried my little tween heart out. I didn't know what that meant AT ALL! I thought to myself, "Was it the ponytail? The scrunchie? Was my hair not long enough?". I was clueless. I eventually got over him after changing schools. As a black tween with above average height trying to find my identity, I was hurt after getting rejected by my crush.
I have to be honest, growing up I used to want to be white. I wanted long soft locks. I wanted to be able to manage and style my own hair. I wanted my crushes like me back and not feel weird because of my height or the color of my skin. I wanted to fit in so bad.
My sophomore year of high school I realized that I was born to Stand Tall and Stand Out! I started wearing heels and learning how to take care of my beautiful curly hair! I started to fall in love with my height, my skin and most importantly, myself.