Because Black is Beautiful (updated!)

This post comes from the heart as I am experiencing a good feeling I have never felt. I have never been prouder of my roots...

**Many changes occured since this article! Check out the updates in an article below (07-31-2012)**

It's interesting how recently, I've noticed how many black women in my entourage have reverted back to their natural hair. I am a bit ashamed to say that I was often annoyed when people would seem practically OBSESSED with their natural hair, often putting #naturalhair or #teamnatural as a description under their Instagram pics or Tweets. Why was I annoyed? Why didn't I quickly see the positive side of this? These are questions I have been asking myself lately as I am experiencing this particular "going natural" transition in my life.

Why is does it seem like there is a "problem" with being black in our society? Yes, Montreal is diverse. Yes, Martin Luther King made his speech and made a difference. Yes, supposedly we live in a multi-cultural country. Etc. Etc. The truth is harsh but we cannot hide the fact that racism still exists and discrimination is oftentimes indirect. Mind you, this article and the opinions raised in this article are the results of my personal opinions and things I have noticed around me. I was born and raised in Montreal and I do not have an accent but I did experience some forms of racism many times and not only from other nationalities...Too often, I've experienced racism within my own culture.

I remember those days

Some of the comments I have gotten from black people include things like "Ouh girl it's about time you get a perm", "You have really nice features, you must be mixed! Oh you're not? Are your parents mixed then? You have those good genes" or the comment I hate the most: "You're pretty for a dark skinned girl". Wtf is that supposed to mean? As if the "darker" girls were less beautiful and it was some sort of "blessing" for me to be part of the better looking ones? Or when it comes to hair, getting 1 cm of coarser hair meant that I needed to rush to the hair salon to get rid of it chemically in order to have a more Europeean look? As if sikly hair is how hair "should" be. And because I have uncommon facial features (my nose, in particular), it's almost certain that I have genes from another nationality, one excluding black people? Sad, sad...sad. The ashaming part about it is that

30 Day Blogging challenge. Day 1: 5 ways to win my heart

You guys. I will be blogging everyday during the month of June :) Not only it will be a new hobby (gosh), but you will also get to know me better! I read a few of these in the past month but it was too late for me to start. I'm on it now and I found this particular one quite interesting. 

So here it goes!

DAY 1: Five ways to win your heart

Okay this is a good one! Since you guys already know my opinions on the single life (and I'm still single), here are 5 ways to win my heart when it comes to "LOVE", among other things.

1. Be my friend before my lover

I'm a goof, a dork and I like to chill and play sports. If what we have is just physical, it