BLACK AND CONFIDENT

"Black is Beautiful!"

I chose this week's topic as BLACK AND CONFIDENT because of the importance it is to have confidence in your black skin. Society often urges us to "tone it down" a bit. We can't be too much of ourselves or people will start to feel uncomfortable. But on the other hand, folks can take our culture and everything that makes us unique, do the same thing and be praised for it.

Nope. Not here for it.

Okay so, it's been a rough black history month. Everybody done went to jail, most of ya'll tax money already gone and I did not enter into a relationship with a strong black man.

But on the other hand, Kaepernick won his case against the NFL, Solange revived black planet and I slid back into some skinny jeans so that I can slide into somebody DM's this summer. See what I'm saying? God will turn it around, if you let him.

When I was a little girl, I was very shy around strangers. I usually walked into a room with my hands tucked behind my back, my eyes looking down and when someone would ask me anything, I would answer them under my breath. My Dad would say "Speak up when people are talking to you, Britney." I will never forget my Mom having a talk with me that instilled the confidence that I have today. She said to "Walk with your back straight, your head high and when someone is talking to you, look them in the eye and speak up, little girl" (She still calls me "little girl"... I am 67 years old.) 

The past couple of weeks I found myself sinking back into that "little girl". I was walking through life with my hands tucked behind my back and my eyes looking down. I thought that because I wasn't winning, maybe I wasn't worthy. Ya'll that's hella false. I had to remind myself of who I was and hold my head up like I was taught.

Ya'll, the moral of the story is, know who you are so that nobody can tell you who you are. I learned at a very young age that I AM SOMEBODY. You have to stay confident beyond the month of February, because they will be out here testing all year.

See ya'll next month!

-BRIT