From Pigtails to a College Degree

In my thirty-three years of living, I could not help but to be inspired by hundreds of thousands of women; both living and those that have transitioned to the next life. Yet, there is one woman so spectacular that she has connected with me in every stage of my life, helped me "glow" through the transitions of life by way of her art/talents, and inspired me to make some of the most important decisions of my life.

Being a young Black girl who was born in Boston and raised in Atlanta during the 90's put me in what I thought was a very unique position, but to many people I was "weird", "confusing", or "difficult" because of my alternative background and mixture of cultures. The way that I spoke, dressed, ate, and moved was not common amongst other girls that looked like me. According to many, how I carried myself did not match how I looked; often deemed, "too black" or "too white" to fit in with any group I tried to be involved with. I would often dim my personality or my look in attempt to make others feel more comfortable around me. So, when my cousin introduced me to the show "Rugrats", I would have never expected that a cartoon character was going to send me down a rabbit-hole of cultural connection, self-love/discovery, and Black Girl Magic.

The slightly raspy, energetic, and confident voice telling Tommy Pickles to "Be Ba-wave no matter your size," came from actress Cree Summer, and had me feeling as though Susie Carmichael was speaking directly to my heart. Her voice exuded dynamic energy and was incomparable through the many characters she acted as, getting me through my awkward and confusing phases of being a preteen. There were shows such as "As Told by Ginger", "Danny Phantom", and "Pepper Ann" that had characters she voiced for and gave light to the dimmest parts of my life and reminded me to believe in myself and my dreams even if I was uncertain of the path to take. When I was entering high school, my aunt told me about a show called "A Different World", that I thought was going to be exciting because I could see college kids in action. To my surprise, this show gave me the opportunity to finally put a face to voice that had been boosting my confidence all of these years, and I also connected with her character Freddie on multiple levels personally.

Freddie not only carried on the cool yet cheerfully unique voice of Cree, but she also had big thick hair, talked about energies, the moon, and stars, and she loved everything that she was made up of culturally; just like me. The way Summer's character Freddie was genuine and true to herself regardless of what she was perceived as or challenged of being (or not being) gave me courage to do the same. It also encouraged me to be open minded to venture away from home, and go to a new area for college although I had never seen anyone I have personally known do that. I not only attended and graduated from Bethune-Cookman University, one of the greatest Historically Black Colleges/Universities ever, but I met people like me and also those not like me, yet still open and accepting to who I am.

Representation in the media is not only important, but literally life changing. Sixteen years later, my little sister has been accepted to five HBCU's and will attend one in the fall. I hope to reach the level Cree Summer has to be of wonderful representation for billions of women like herself. I hope even more that she receives her flowers for continuing to use the power of her art and womanhood for good.