A Letter to my Beautiful Flaws
Dear Flaws,
Let me first re-introduce myself to you, although I’m sure you already know who I am. My name is Silianise Moise, known by most as Cece, but you on the other hand know me for my imperfections. At least that’s what you call them anyways, but I personally call them my secret weapons. Since we are starting anew, let me start by warning you that this time I’ve mastered my imperfections. I’ve mastered them so well that no one else could use them against me, not even you. I won’t have time to talk to you about all of them, but in this letter I wanted to discuss just a few.
My Bright Smile
So let me talk to you about my bright smile, my stripes, my kinky curls, and my Godiva chocolate skin. I’m quite sure that you’re already judging me… thinking of the millions of other flaws that I’ve omitted from this list. Well the truth is that they are not flaws. These are beauties that society is unable to see with their bare eyes. As for myself however; I’m able to see these beauties and embrace them for what they are, parts of me. They make me YOUnique and special.
Hmmmm…now this time around, I honestly don’t care for your opinions. Unfortunately for you, I’m a bit older and wiser now and I’ve learned since the last time we spoke that I wasn’t born to be perfect, I was born to learn and reflect from my imperfections. So, in the spirit of reflecting, let’s…
I remember my first trip to the dentist in Orlando, where my dentist politely advised me to get braces because of the gaps between my smile. I never thought of my smile as an imperfection before that day, but informed me that it was. Seriously, like why are my gaps or teeth imperfect? Is it because society said so? My teeth, gaps nor smile ever bothered me though! Okay, maybe I tend to bit my bottom lips a lot, but is that enough of a reason to add orthodontic appliances to my mouth? That’s just breaks my heart. How would changing what I consider my perfect smile impact me positively in my life?
Ohhhh…you don’t know? So, I’m supposed to break my heart into two because of what you think, but your legitimacies are flawed. I just realized that the reason why you can’t explain why my teeth are imperfect are hardly even an area of discussion at all; it is because it doesn’t affect how beautiful my smile actually is at all. Can the gaps between my teeth make me less beautiful or is it all about society’s obsolete beauty standards? But society’s standards are forever changing, so why should I conquer to their standards? But, enough about my smile. All you need to know is that I love my wide smile and the wide facial spectrum expressions I make when I smile. So, to my smile, just know that you are beautiful because you were meticulously crafted and you light up my day like the stars in the night’s sky.
My Body Arts
Oh! So, you want to discuss my stretch marks? Why are they any of your business though? Why do you care about the stripes along my thighs and my breasts? Wait, do you speak ill of a zebra’s notably distinguished stripes? If not, then don’t come for mine. My stripes are just as vibrant as the stripes on a tiger. Okay, fine I am human, so I do sometimes wonder what are the purpose of my stripes. Mostly because they are a reminder of major life events such as weight lost or motherhood and I haven’t experience either. I refuse to spend money to remove them to meet society’s status quo. I love my stripes; I see them as body arts, as adornments to my sides, my birthmarks.
My Cocoa Butter Skin
To my Godiva chocolate skin, well…I don’t know where to start. Growing up in Haiti, you made me belief somewhat lighter in complexion was better. That was until I moved to the states, where I realized that my skin color was as perplex as my DNA. Where here it’s like my skin color is a determinate of my level of beauty. Here in the States I also realized that my color is viewed as a weapon of mass destruction and although I lack possession to the detonation codes, it’s apparent that I’m not the one holding the trigger.
Can you imagine your skin color being such a threat to humanity? I was thinking that my chocolate skin was viewed as the heart of Africa. In contrary, when travelling around the world I have realized that I am view as much less. Recently during my trip to Turkey I felt like a freak show, people stopped and stared, asked for pictures and even tried to touch my hair. Unreal, I know! I shake my head in anguish, knowing that the reality is my exotic skin color is viewed as a threat. For the past few years, I’ve realized that I must explain why I matter and why my blackness matter. I can prove that my black is beautiful, but unfortunately I can’t convince society that my black is not a treat. The word needs my beautifully brown skin. SO, I will embrace this complexion and display it proudly, oh and that hold true for my tiger stripes as well!
My Natural Kinky Hair
Dear kinks, I know that we have our shares of ups and downs, by no fault of your own. Similar to my skin color, I was told that you were not good enough. Apparently it’s because your texture is foreign to them. Fortunately for me, you are one of the reasons why I think that I’m so flawless and dope. Someone somewhere said that all hair is beautiful because everyone’s hair is different. Hmm…I’m pretty sure this is a conflicting message. I was told that in order for you to be beautiful, you needed to be straighten.
Okay…I must admit, sometimes I just don’t want to comb you or deal with you at all, nothing against you, I just don’t like combing hair! Although I sometimes go days without showing you any love, aside for on the Sabbath, just know that I’m growing and learning to embrace you more and more every day.
I’m learning to embrace everything from your wild and strong texture to your astonishing contrasting balance of curls. You kinks are like the mixture of melodies and harmony that has intertwined to create a sweet masterpiece.
Flaws, you must be wondering, why I’m writing this letter to you. what’s the purpose?
Well, in a society that build empires from self-doubts, self-hate and low self-esteem, I’ve decided that I would take a stance.
This letter is for my flaws and anyone else’s flaws that want to be liberated, freed.
This letter is for everyone who has ever experience self-doubts because society made them believe that they were flawed or was not beautiful enough.
This letter is for every little girl who dies a little every time she realizes that she doesn’t mirror the perfect images inside the pages of the magazines at her favorite stores.
I’m writing this letter to remind myself that I was meticulously designed. I’m writing this with a smile on my face to remind my flaws that we will be together until death do us part. We are like the lyrics to a Boys II Men love song, “we will always be together”. So let’s be the lyrics to our self-motivation and will to stand tall and survive.
Flaws please let me publicly articulate to you that you are a part of what defines true beauty. And I thank you for not being so perfect.
I love you and all of your imperfections.
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