Girl I had to DM you on IG with a voice note to tell you how much this piece touched me! Sis all I can say right now is I’m so grateful we crossed paths. This hit home, this was my life and my mama also wasn’t going to let me be whitewashed, I was there for the education nothing else. This piece TOP TIER!
Omg, let me go re-download IG, lol. I’m so glad this resonated with you. Honestly, I’m not even sure if I would’ve talked about this publicly if I didn’t have a nurturing community of readers like you who give me permission to be vulnerable. I'm so happy we crossed paths as well.
I came back here to reply so you can delete the app lol I get it. But I’m so grateful for you and your words. I’m grateful you have this community so you are encouraged to share more!
I have a picture that lives in my mind of my teen self with a too tight Abercrombie shirt, ripped jeans, and a perm(!)
It truly takes intentional work to remain connected to Black culture during those years of seeking belonging in a whitewashed education system. This hits! Thank you for allowing me to feel seen.
The visual with GAP on one side and Jordan’s on the other brought me back. That was middle school for me - realizing the stark differences between how white kids dressed and Black kids dressed and trying to fit in to both. 😫 So much of your story resonates with me. It’s middle school me for whom I searched, found, and stand firmly in my identity now. Thank you for sharing!
This piece is so powerful, Lachelle! As a non-white person, I do relate to this. White girls were so mean to me in high school. I made the most friends and felt more 'welcome' when I attended college at an HBCU. I just loved this piece so much. It really inspires me to write more about my identity here. I have so many drafts that I've been keeping tucked away.
Thank you so much for reading Rojeen! That’s dope you were able to go to an HBCU and find some sense of belonging, that’s an experience I really wanted to have but couldn’t. Dust off those drafts! There’s someone who needs to hear from you. 🖤
Girl I had to DM you on IG with a voice note to tell you how much this piece touched me! Sis all I can say right now is I’m so grateful we crossed paths. This hit home, this was my life and my mama also wasn’t going to let me be whitewashed, I was there for the education nothing else. This piece TOP TIER!
Omg, let me go re-download IG, lol. I’m so glad this resonated with you. Honestly, I’m not even sure if I would’ve talked about this publicly if I didn’t have a nurturing community of readers like you who give me permission to be vulnerable. I'm so happy we crossed paths as well.
I came back here to reply so you can delete the app lol I get it. But I’m so grateful for you and your words. I’m grateful you have this community so you are encouraged to share more!
Whew! The black-tween-messy-bun-trauma to eclectic, unapologetic writer pipeline is soo real!🙏🏽🙌🏽
LOL 🤣 thank you for reading RheAnn!
This hits hard.
I have a picture that lives in my mind of my teen self with a too tight Abercrombie shirt, ripped jeans, and a perm(!)
It truly takes intentional work to remain connected to Black culture during those years of seeking belonging in a whitewashed education system. This hits! Thank you for allowing me to feel seen.
Oh man, that assimilated Black girl early aughts aesthetic was so specific, lol. I love that this made you feel seen.
The visual with GAP on one side and Jordan’s on the other brought me back. That was middle school for me - realizing the stark differences between how white kids dressed and Black kids dressed and trying to fit in to both. 😫 So much of your story resonates with me. It’s middle school me for whom I searched, found, and stand firmly in my identity now. Thank you for sharing!
It's wild how that age seems to be the starting point of finding out who you are for so many people. Thank you for reading, Martina!
This piece is so powerful, Lachelle! As a non-white person, I do relate to this. White girls were so mean to me in high school. I made the most friends and felt more 'welcome' when I attended college at an HBCU. I just loved this piece so much. It really inspires me to write more about my identity here. I have so many drafts that I've been keeping tucked away.
Thank you so much for reading Rojeen! That’s dope you were able to go to an HBCU and find some sense of belonging, that’s an experience I really wanted to have but couldn’t. Dust off those drafts! There’s someone who needs to hear from you. 🖤
thank you for the encouragement! 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼
wow this is beautifully written thank you for the read <33
I lowkey relate even tho I'm a brown person in a place where most others are brown too