My View of Myself

Since my high school graduation everything has changed. The world seems a little clearer and a little less hopeless, and I have Tanzania to thank for that. It is constantly amazing to me that such a place can exist because to me it is practically heaven on earth. Strangers that always make sure I am ok and truly have my best interests and safety in mind is always shocking to me. Black women perceived as beautiful even with short hair. Who I am, my ambition, and interests seen as enough. All treated as equals, friends, and family. Before I arrived in Tanzania I identified my worth as approval given to me by my superiors, parents, teachers, friends, coaches, classmates, teammates, and boys, but now I define self-value as my view of myself. Being in a place where I do not have to go the extra mile to prove to others my worth has shown me that there is spaces and people with whom I belong. There is places where the black woman can just exist, and I will do everything in my power to make sure no matter the nation that we can always find that because the black woman deserves to be allowed to breath, to live, to smile, to just exist, and being in Tanzania has given me insight on how to make that an American reality.