Narratives of Celebration Fall 2020

No Shame In Black Beauty
Meley Getachew
“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are,” a quote said by
Marilyn Monroe, which is something that I was grappling with my whole life. I was 12
years old when I first compared myself to someone else. September 2013 is when I
remember vividly walking through the St. Louis Park Middle School sign right above the
entrance doors. My 12-year-old self was wearing one of my favorite outfits at the time
since it was picture day. It was my zebra mesh long sleeve shirt with my blue leggings
and not forgetting the white converse to finish off the look. My hair was freshly out of the
shower with perfect curly spirals that would bounce every time I took a step. Walking into
the school instantly made me have that euphoric feeling of excitement but also
nervousness. As soon as I stepped into my middle school, I felt so confident with how I
dressed on the first day. After I took my pictures, it was time for me to go to my locker to
learn my locker combination and that was when I heard the voices of these two girls. My
focus from opening my locker to looking up at the girls changed so fast. It was two tall
girls with slim model-like body figures. They both had long blonde golden hair that would
reach down to their lower back. I remember looking at their faces, and I was astounded
by how pretty they were. They had flawlessly arched eyebrows to go with their crystal-like
ocean eyes. Their teeth were so nice that you could find an image of their teeth on a
dentist's website. Their cheeks were rosy pink and perfectly round but where you could
still see their cheekbones. They walked past me like I was invisible. I felt so insecure
about myself. After that school-day on
the bus ride home, all I could think
about was those two distinct girls and I
didn’t know why I couldn’t stop thinking
about them. Coming home, I looked at
myself in the mirror and was
comparing every little detail about my
features and would ask myself “what’s
wrong with me? Why do I look this
way?” I was at such a young age where
I first noticed my own differences from
someone else's.
I stared in the mirror and started
analyzing all of my flaws. My forehead
is something that I was self-conscious about and probably my greatest insecurity. I didn’t
understand why it’s so big. I noticed that my head was bigger than a lot of the other girls
in my school and I was very upset by that. My eyes then transitioned down to my