I was born beautiful.

Society will tell me different. 

 

I have curly hair.

Long, tangly, brown, curly locks. 

I grew to hate my hair. 

I was 5, already craving to use a hair straightner. 

The movies tell me my hair should be straight,

The magazines tell me my hair needs to be lighter.

Years and years I hated my hair,

Until finally I woke up one day.

I told myself,

"Today I will not straighten my hair, today I will be a queen."

I was indeed a queen,

I never wanted to straighten my hair again. 

 

I have brown skin.

I am hispanic,

not the darkest shade,

but not the lightest shade. 

As a child, I saw the movies.

White.

White.

White.

Millions of white characters,

Where there was only one brown character.

Most Hispanic charaters were thugs,

Drug dealers,

Workers,

A punch line to a joke.

I hated my skin,

I wanted to be white, 

I remember the thoughts going through my head, 

telling me what I needed to look like to look good.

But then I woke up one day.

I decided

"Today I will love my skin." 

"Today I will love myself for who I am"

I don't want my skin any other color now. 

 

My eyes are brown.

A dark brown,

Almost black,

A void among all light eyes.

Every color eye is praised by society,

Except brown. 

I hated my eyes,

I have problems with my eyes now,

But one day

I woke up.

I told myself,

"I will love myself for the eyes I have,

They're the only eyes i've got."

And since then, 

I've grown stronger in loving my beautiful brown eyes.

 

I am flawless

Society will tell me differently

Society will try to sculpt me

Society will try to make me buy their products.

I will not budge,

I will not succumb.

Everyday I wake up,

remembering,

I was born beautiful.