Black Girl

Hi, my name is Nia and I'm 18 years old. My family moved to the United States from Africa when I was just a child. Growing up, I always felt like an outsider because of my darker skin tone. As I got older, I started to embrace my unique beauty and learned to love myself for who I am. However, that didn't stop people from judging me based on my appearance. One day, I was walking home from school when a group of boys began to harass me. They called me ugly and asked if I knew what a clit was. I was too scared to defend myself so I ran away as fast as I could. When I got home, I felt traumatized and alone. That's when I discovered my love for art and began to explore my creativity through painting and drawing. It wasn't until recently that I found a community of other black women who were also struggling with their identities. We share our experiences and support each other through our struggles. I may not have control over the way people treat me, but I can control how I respond to them. And that's what I plan to do from now on.