Monday Motivation - Love The Skin You Are In

Love The Skin You Are In

When each of us were born, we had the largest organ of our bodies showing, it is our skin. No matter what color your skin is, you were born, and no matter how you were raised, you were raised with your skin. Today I want to encourage everyone to love the skin you are in because it is uniquely your skin. February is Black History Month and there are so many things that come to mind about the history of color relations in the United States. My hope is that we could look past judging someone for the color of their skin, and instead we should be able to embrace the differences that we experience, because of our skin color or ethnic group. I will not say to be color blind, because culture, ethnicity, and color is a very important part of someone's experience. Many times people do not take the time to understand someone elses background, because they do not think it should play a role in who they have become, or why they behave the way that they do concerning race or ethnic background interaction. I say, your personal history and experiences make up who you become in life and the way one acts or behaves concerning people that are different than them, especially concerning race, is a learned, taught, or observed behavior. We as humans need to understand that we are made up of more than just our skin, and how we behave is just as important as our outward appearance. I was able to go to Fort Sam Houston when I was stationed at Fort Hood in Texas and the hospital at Fort Sam Houston had military members that had just come back from war situations and they were wounded. I have never experienced something so impactful in my life. I saw service members with limbs missing, parts of their skin off of their face, and other body parts, in wheel chairs, with bandages everywhere, so much so that it was hard to tell which race or ethnic background they belonged to. I say all this to say, did it really matter to me which race they were? Of course not, because they were brave enough to put their self in harms way for other fellow Americans to continue to enjoy freedoms and rights as humans. I served my country in the Army also, but I did not have to lose my limbs, and I am thankful to those who were brave enough to put their lives on the line for others to be free. By being exposed to things like this, it helps me to realize how stupid racism can be, how much it does not make someone's soul brave. I saw people's hearts, not their skin color. I saw people's bravery, not their ethnic group and I showed compassion, and thanked them for their service, although I was still serving. Some of them will never be the same and in some ways I will never be the same either. My experiences make me who I am and the more I am exposed to others, the more I understand where they are coming from and how they have become who they are. I say loudly and proudly to LOVE THE SKIN YOU ARE IN! We are all different and we are supposed to be, just know that you are not a mistake and neither is your skin. Monique Lyn elle Gray