Dear Black Girl,
They talk so much about you, but I am blessed and grateful for the chance to talk TO you. I almost didn’t write this letter. I wasn’t sure what to say. Do I have anything of value to share? Anything inspiring and impactful to say? Will my letter be good enough? Am I good enough?
Good enough.
Two words, one feeling that’s been haunting me since I was a Black Girl. Never quite knowing if I was good enough. The world I grew up in made me feel like I wasn’t. Too tall. Too skinny. Hair too nappy. Lips too big. Family too poor. Daddy too gone. I retreated inside myself. I wish someone – anyone had written me a letter to help draw me out.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned it doesn’t help to be resentful and bitter about the past. Instead, I can live a new story and focus on giving what I didn’t get. You deserve this letter. You deserve to know the Truth of who you are sooner rather than later. You deserve not to have to go through life fighting others and at times fighting yourself. You deserve to have people fighting for you and cheering you on. Trust me when I tell you there are so many women – your big sisters – fighting for you; cheering you on; praying for your elevation and protection; holding space for you; clearing the way for you; most important of all, looking up to you.
Yes, I look UP to YOU! You represent all the hope and promise of what it means to be a free Black Girl. You are that Black butterfly that can soar to the highest heights and not be weighed down by the things designed to break you.
You are the one who can know RIGHT NOW what it feels like to love your skin, your body, your voice, your smile, your hair, your ideas, your walk, your YOU. Knowing all of that is power and you can take all that power to change the world. Shoot, you can make your own world with that kind of power! A brave new world of Superhero Black Girls doing dope s—t!
Black Girl, I want you to know that you are resilient for a purpose. Your shine is brilliant for a purpose. Trust yourself. Protect your heart. Make your physical, emotional and mental health a priority. It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to scream. It’s also okay to laugh loud as hell and dance until you sweat your hair out! All women aren’t catty and petty. Your sisters are not the enemy. The only person worthy of your completion is the person you see in the mirror. Can you be a better YOU TODAY?
Don’t fall in love with potential! (Please don’t! Lol). Trust your instincts. It’s okay to want better for your life than what you’ve been told/shown is possible. Get money. Save money. Invest money. Strive to be debt free. Learn what makes you happy. Learn your superpowers (because you have them!) You deserve to be happy and free.
You are good enough. You are enough. You are enough. You are enough. You are enough.
I love you.
Sandria Washington
Sandria Washington is 35 years old, a writer/editor hailing from Chicago, Illinois.
Follow the #DearBlackGirl movement at www.thebeautifulproject.org.
#DearBlackGirl: The Love Letter Every Black Woman Must Write & Every Black Girl Must Read was originally published on blackdoctor.org
