I LOVE MY HAIR...you should too!

" You ain't human without fear"

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself. ~Harvey Fierstein

Passing

Race has been the common topic of many of my recent conversations, and recently this lead to a brief discussion about passing; when a Black person is light enough to pass for White. Post convo, I've been thinking about these individuals who are are able to pass. While it is a societal benefit (to some) it seems like it would cause some deep identity issues and personal strife. I can't even imagine having to reject or neglect my culture as a means to "get by" in America.

I took this thought to another level and removed race. What do we pass for daily? Happy? Strong? Outcast? Strange? Flawless? Our identities are constantly being compromised in order to fit into what the world says we should be.

My advice, don't get so lost in what you are passing for that you lose or neglect who you actually are. If you're not happy, don't be. I'm not saying be a walking storm cloud, but we should be honest with ourselves, our feelings, our emotions, our past, and our futures.

...but what do I know?

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. ~e.e. cummings, 1955

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. ~Judy Garland

We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves. ~François Duc de La Rochefoucauld