A little girl wants to fix herself.

Something is wrong because she is different.

She just wants to look like everyone else, like her friends

Because she’s been surrounded on all sides

By something that isn’t the same as her.

Their hair is straighter

And their skin is lighter.

No one told her that nothing was wrong

Because her only example was Zendaya.

The one black actress on Disney Channel didn’t look like her,

So she must be the one who’s messed up

Because her hair is too puffy and big,

And her skin is too dark. 

The star’s hair falls in perfect curls while her’s refuses to move.

She has skin that is dark olive while the girl’s is milk chocolate.

If she is the famous one with shows and movies,

Then that little girl must be the mistake. 

So, she gets her hair straightened,

But it is temporary, lasting only a few days

And then shriveling back into its curl formation.

She must pump it with chemicals

That will burn her scalp and hurt

But it will all be worth it to be just like her.

Anything is worth becoming her

Because that’s what the little girl is supposed to look like.

Now, her hair is straighter

(still not perfect)

But her skin is way too dark.

She has to make sure to put on lots of sunscreen

Or just avoid the sun altogether.

Those tan lines are proof that she is too dark

Because she can be lighter.

Even her parents have a lighter complexion.

Something went wrong when God made it to her.

She just wants to be normal

And she is too young to understand that she already is.

Nothing needs to change

Because she is who she is.

This lesson will take her years to learn

Because the world around her won’t teach her. 

She must go on this path alone 

In order to come out better on the other side

With the confidence of her childhood role model.