Intro: Brittany Matthews

Words people use to point me out in a crowd: Black, Tall, Brown Eyes, Quiet. Legs. Cackles.

But what they don't see is how those things are more than just ways to identify me.

I'm black and that includes being part of a race that is still trying to find it's niche in the land of the free after being oppressed for years.

I'm tall, and that means people sometimes don't look me in the face when they talk to me. Sometimes, people are intimidated. 

I have brown eyes - hazel actually - but they're actually a recessive gene that I got from a grandmother I never knew. They sometimes give me unwanted attention from people who should know better.

I'm quiet, but that's because I don't know how people will react to me when I open my mouth. My words sometimes get jumbled and what comes out sometimes makes no sense.

My legs attract a lot of attention, compliments and jealousy alike. Sometimes, the compliments are too much. I have scars all over them and I occasionally forget to shave.

My cackle is even worse. It's uncontrollable. It sometimes gets to a point where I am laughing at every other word and I literally. can't. breathe. 

But.

I love being black and I love my people. I love wearing heels and not caring what people think. I love how my eyes sometimes catch the sunlight and shine. I love people watching in silence. I love being able to wear shorts without feeling self conscious. And I find my cackle endearing, even if nobody else does.

This project is about getting to know people beyond their surface qualities. But for me, it's also about accepting the labels people put on me and understanding how they shape me as a person. Once I can get past my own labels, I can potentially help others to see past their own and those of others.

Ghandi said, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”

So today, I must strive for self-actualization. Tomorrow, I strive to change the world.