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[keepmegold]

i feel this on every level

[keepmegold]

When is it junk?

I hold onto things much longer than I should. It’s not junk or clutter because what if I need it later? What if it has a use that I just haven’t realized yet? I can’t make myself throw it away because what happens when it’s gone and I finally figure out what it was for? What happens when something breaks and it’s the perfect missing piece?  

I have a hard time letting go of things. I can’t just throw it away because what if I need it later. What if I regret it? 

But how long do I keep it before it becomes junk? 

I took down all your notes and cards and smiles... but I keep them in a box. Because what if I need them again? What if they’re the perfect missing piece to everything that’s broken between us? How long do I type your name in passwords and look at that keychain and avoid the places where I’ve hidden everything of you that once made me smile? 

How long do I stay in this box until you decide I’m junk? What if you need me again? 

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“I wanna do this with you “ a love language

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no offense but I’ve never gotten over anything that’s happened to me in my life

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In many cultures, ethnic groups, and nations around the world, hair is considered a source of power and prestige. African people brought these traditions and beliefs to the Americas and passed them down through the generations.

In my mother’s family (Black Americans from rural South Carolina) the women don’t cut their hair off unless absolutely necessary (i.e damage or routine trimming). Long hair is considered a symbol of beauty and power; my mother often told me that our hair holds our strength and power. Though my mother’s family has been American born for several generations, it is fascinating to see the beliefs and traditions of our African ancestors passed down. We are emotionally and spiritually attached to our hair, cutting it only with the knowledge that we are starting completely clean and removing stagnant energy.

Couple this with the forced removal and covering of our hair from the times of slavery and onward, and you can see why so many Black women and men alike take such pride and care in their natural hair and love to adorn our heads with wigs, weaves, braids, twists, accessories, and sharp designs.

Hair is not just hair in African diaspora cultures, and this is why the appropriation and stigma surrounding our hair is so harmful.

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Me as a grad student

Me in college 

Me as a senior in high school

[keepmegold]

look. i don’t think my stretch marks are beautiful. i don’t think they’re tiger stripes or natural tattooos. i don’t think my acne is beautiful. i don’t think the bags under my eyes are beautiful. i just think they’re human. and i don’t think i have to be beautiful all of the time in order to be accepted and loved and sucessful. i don’t think every small detail of my outer appearence needs to be translated into prettiness.

[keepmegold]

the turtleducks deserved more airtime

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