Back in high school, I was out in the sun every chance I got. I climbed trees, picked fruits, went to riverbanks and
looked for naturally-polished stones, went running around with friends, looked for strange-looking insects, and explored as far as my feet would bring me. I only went home whenever my nose bled from too much sun exposure.
And because the nose bleeding had been frequent, a time came when I finally made my mom angry. She yelled at me and I remember every word. “Mary
Shirl!!! Dumudugo na naman ilong mo! Ang taas-taas ng araw at ang itim-itim mo na! KULAY VIOLET ka na!!!" ("Your nose is bleeding again! It's too hot and you’re so dark
already! Your (skin) color is violet!!!”) And I remember how I silently giggled while being scolded. I actually liked what I heard.
I guess I really was a strange kid. I was and
still am fascinated with the world of fantasy, magic and superpowers. Back then, my
heroes were the X-men and Raven/Mystique happened to be my favorite. So imagine
telling a child, who adores a blue-skinned character, she’s turned violet. That’s just one of my cherished memories.
So yeah... my skin color or anybody else's skin color never really bothered me. For me, skin color is just color.
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Anyway, I love the sun and I looove being outdoors. I love living on the island. And my skin color is my armor from sun damage. There’s just no way I’d hate something that equips me to do what I love to do. I guess I'm lucky because I love what I have.
So if you’re someone who’s
feeling bad about your skin color, stop it. Don’t be insecure about it. Instead
find a reason to love your skin whether you’re too pale, too dark, or even too violet (*wink).
And if you're someone who loves your skin color, share why and comment below. Let's give others more reason to love their skin.
I'd like to end this post with a kick-ass quote.
“Besides, skin color was skin color, right? It was just the color of your goddamned skin. There was nothing anybody could do about that. You were born with it. Like some people were born with big feet or blue eyes." -Pete Hamill, Snow in August
Have a colorful day!
