All By Chance

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"I get emotional about what these children can have. When you watch these parents at the protest, you want to grab them and say to them, 'Remember when you were a child. You wanted to be an astronaut, a scientist, or president of the United States.' And you couldn't because no one taught you which direction to go there. So, wanting to be an astronaut seemed as faraway as the moon, which it's really not that far but no one told you that. And you just don't want to see anyone else miss out because no one told them that they could have it."

- Karl Willingham, Harlem Success Parent

Shorty

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Dear Not-Yet-Made Soybeanito Letter #3

Dear Not-Yet-Made Soybeanito,

Your dad and I imagine what you will look like all the time. We hope that you will have my nose and healthy skin. From your dad, I hope that he will gift you his sweet smile and bright eyes. If the universe has its way, the color of your skin will fall somewhere between the caramel hue of my skin and toasted coconut like your dad's. Because of how the universe has shaped your features and painted your skin, people will inevitably ask you, "What are you?" Do not become annoyed. It is natural for people to want to try to place people into familiar categories. 

This is what I will tell you each night before you go to sleep to help you begin finding out who you are. You are a little person who is loved more than you will ever know. You are a little person who can be whatever your heart chooses to be because the color of your skin does not need to hinder the dreams that lie deep within you. Others may choose to tell you who you are, but you ultimately decide who you will become. 

Remember we loved you before you even existed.  

On Night

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"Night, the beloved. Night, when words fade and things come alive. When the destructive analysis of day is done, and all that is truly important becomes whole and sound again. When man reassembles his fragmentary self and grows with the calm of a tree."

-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Brave Like Him

My hubster is wonderfully brave. He won't admit it. I'm not even sure if he realizes it. He jumps into each new adventure with such enthusiasm. When he's in the thick of it, anxiety will occasionally creep up behind him. I greatly admire his ability to hop into situations with very little hesitation. When I ask him how he does it, he simply replies, "It needs to get done." Oh, my very practical engineer.

Words often fail me when I try to express my fear to him. As my mind begins to shape my words they are overshadowed by "It needs to get done." When I look at him, I know that his eyes will not make me feel small. Even so, I know he does not truly understand the intensity that my fear surrounds me. In spite of my fear, my pride still has its ever present voice. My pride tells me, "There is no reason that you can't be as brave as he is." With great love and admiration, I would love to be as brave as he is.

Throwback Tuesday: Everytime - Tatyana Ali