The Skin I'm In

⭐Bad⭐

"Is it bad that I never made love, no I never did it. But I sure know how to fuck I'll be your, bad girl. I'll prove it to you. Can't promise that, I'll be good to you. Cause I had some issues, I won't commit, no not having it."- Bad by Wale

⭐Nyla⭐

"Why you so black?"

"You ain't even black. You purple!"

"I hope you don't ever get lost at night. Because nobody will be able to find you."

"There goes Nyla. The African booty scratcher!"

From my earliest childhood memories, I could remember my skin bringing unwanted attention upon me. People would stare at me funny, and call me all sorts of names. They dehumanized me with their words, making me feel like a foreign creature of some sort. It's really crazy how genetics work, because both of my parent's are a milk chocolate tone yet I came out midnight black. I'm the darkest one in my family. My mother said it was because I was a bad seed that I came out so dark.

Back in my hometown Lagos, Nigeria, I never really felt too out of place, because there were plenty of people who had the same skin as me. But when me and my family moved to the states, seven years ago, I stuck out like a sore thumb. When I started public school, the kids were ruthless savages who teased me endlessly.

There were days when I would sit in the tub for hours, crying as I scrubbed my skin until it bled, hoping the dark pigmentation would go away. I hated my skin. I felt like I would be so much better without it. It was a curse.

I sighed deeply as I clutched the steering wheel of my car, a 2000 all black GT Mustang.