Be

This is a piece I wrote and recited at a special event tonight.  It’s about being who you are and walking confidently in your truth.

Be

Be who you are.  In a world that constantly tells you to be something else, it is the bravest choice you can make.  Stand in your truth, do not deny yourself the right to exist.  It may hurt like hell, get you shunned, cast out, or may even threaten your life, but persist and hold on to your faith.  Shine through the darkness.  It may be blinding and abysmal, but you have a light inside you that can obliterate any cloud, should you only set it free.  The world needs you.  You are the only you that has ever been or ever will be.  Those beautiful strands of DNA that are the essence of you were made for a special purpose.  Embrace every quirk, every scar, every blemish, for each is perfect in the eyes of the Creator.  You are surrounded by love right now, feel it.  Let the force of it move you forward with dignity.  Be who you are and be proud.  Set the world on fire with your audacity to face the world with authenticity.  No closet in the world is big enough to ever contain it.

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A Letter To A Black Girl

Dear Black Girl,
Please do not let what you see on television and the music that you hear on the radio tell you differently: YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!! You are powerful and miraculous. You are special.
No matter what is happening around you, I want you to always remember that.
As a young girl growing up in Toledo, Ohio, I wasn’t told that very much. As the middle child of three sisters, I was automatically, the invisible one. I chose to make myself visible by learning as much I could, developing a passion for reading, and a hunger for success. If I did well in school, that helped people see me.
I also found solace in writing. Getting lost in creating characters and worlds that I felt comfortable in saved my life as a teenager, and it still continues to save my life now.
So, my beautiful young friend, find the things that make you truly happy, right down to your soul. Embrace your talents, write that poem, paint that picture, dance the rhythms that permeate your heart. Create, always believe in you and surround yourself with people who do, and know that you stand on the shoulders of greatness that will truly carry you the distance.
Love,
Chere R. Hampton