Here’s something I’m thankful for: I’ve been learning to love and accept who I am and what I can become, embracing my features and elevating my unique image. I’m exploring how to complement or sculpt my appearance within my choice of fashion and expression, from hair to clothing, and from facial expressions to posture.

I’ve been assessing my strengths and weaknesses, my skills, and my abilities. I’ve been deciding what qualities I want and don’t want to embody. I’ve been more attentive to my actions and thoughts, learning why I do the things I do and how my thoughts and actions not only affect myself but also the people around me. I’ve been reviewing my life choices and contemplating my future ones.

I’ve been taking the time to learn who I am and what my story is or can be. I want people to see me for who I want to be because we all have the right to express who we are. The desire I have for people to see me the way I want to be seen ignites my desire to learn and to admire the unique individuality of others. Why would we let fabrications such as race, stereotypes, prejudices, and connotations destroy such a privilege?

I was very ignorant about many things growing up, matters that ranged from cooties to race. However, this ignorance was a blessing. For example, when I met people, I only thought someone’s skin tone was part of their appearance. As I became more aware of racial issues, prejudices, and stereotypes, I didn’t want to judge people that way; to me, it was unfair. Those thoughts were conditioned fabrications we are told to believe and accept, but when you go out there and experience the real world and its people, you realize everyone has their own story to tell.

Race, stereotypes, and prejudices are not real; they’re just fabrications we’ve been conditioned to believe. Take control and focus on developing who you are and implementing changes in yourself, loving yourself, and motivating yourself. Trying to do those things will directly or indirectly help other people love themselves and change. We can complain all we want about life and its injustices, but nothing will change unless you change and help pass the ripple of change—a ripple to a wave, a wave to a river, a river to an ocean, an ocean to the world…