Guest Author - Grace D. Dooley

We are all created equally but posses different qualities.. We have different hair, eyes, skin color and no to people are a like. Some have red skin, others brown, some even a hint of yellow. But if you notice, ethnic women have a brown to black skin color. We do not fit in with the lighter color. Our color stands out and we are recognized by the color of our skin.

There are features we want the world to know about us, like our culture or heritage background. But for the sake of ethnic beauty we are talking skin tones. Skin tones that are brown to black, not just tanned, but brown to black and you know who you are.

Many times ethnic women are faced with not being able to find what is right for their complexion. She is often forced to settle for something that doesn't allow her true beauty to be seen. Most of us want to reflect our uniqueness and celebrate our heritage and who we are. We are a very unique group of women. We want to embrace this uniqueness but how? How do we define ourselves with out separating or isolating ourselves from the masses?

We start by accepting our differences and ourselves. We have to really accept who we are as women in the context of our families, our communities and our cultural heritages. We also need to accept ourselves as being beautiful no matter what.

We want a country that does not see color but color is part of our make up as people. When you look around you see color everywhere, even in people; their clothes, their hair, their nails, their skin color. There is color all around us why should people be any different?

We should not be treated differently because of our color but there are some issues that says "Hey you are different". If we were all the same imagine how boring our lives would be. How would you like it if every one looked like you, talked like you and did everything the way you do? There would be nothing to set us apart as individuals.

Take medically for example; some diseases are more common among ethnic groups then in a whole of the population. Now this is not to mean other people out side ethnic groups do not suffer from these same medical conditions. I 'm just saying some diseases are more prominent in ethnic groups, either because of life style, culture or heritage. We will be looking into some of these medical issues in future articles.

We are different! We just don't want to be treated as such. We want people to respect us for who we are, as women, as individuals and as human beings. Loving, accepting and respecting yourself are very important to being unique and different from all the rest.

There is only one you. You are the only one who can do what you do, look the way you look, talk the way you talk and love the way you love. You are the best-qualified woman for the job of being you. Embrace it, celebrate it and enjoy it every day of your life. No one else is good at being uniquely you: Except You.

Always remember: Be good to yourself because if you don’t who will.