GIRL, WIPE YOUR TEARS

 

 

Dear reader,

I never imagined I’d get this far. I never thought my voice would be heard. Even if it was just 20 people. I never thought I’d have a piece that got over 300 views on its first day of release. I never thought I’d have you guys here. I never thought I’d grow up from that girl who thought so less of herself. I grew, I learnt and I loved.

Which is why I’m writing this letter to you; my girls. From the bottom of my heart; Girl, I love you and I want you to know the world is large enough for your dreams. You’re strong, talented, beautiful and your struggle only strengthens you. Girl, Wipe Your Tears! It’s your time to shine.

 

Love,

Grace.

 

 

We’re Girls.

 They bring us up to compete with each other and then tell us we envy each other too much. They tell us we have to fight for attention; not for good things like jobs or our rights which I think could be helpful, but for the attention of men.

We’ve had society tell us where our dreams end and how our stories are meant to go. They tell us not to dream too much. They tell us not to stray too far or no man will find us.‘They’ have so many opinions.

But, here’s mine.

 

Dear Girl,

 I see you.

Your struggles are validated. Your worries are natural.

I see you hiding and cowering whenever the noise comes. I see you running from the fight; afraid you’ll be defeated.

I see you guarding your heart; afraid they’ll break it again.

I see you covering your ears when they speak; allowing your rebellion take over.

You look at your body, you stare longingly at the mirror; looking for answers you won’t find.

You cower when your originality is questioned.

Your perfectly beautiful face is always their topic of discussion. You agree with whatever they say because you’re scared of judgment.

Girl, I see you.

You’re reading just as much as the boys are. You’re struggling with school just like them. You’re as brilliant as the boys; maybe even more so. You have potential like the boys. But you’ll never be as opportune as the boys.

When you speak up, you’re too loud; especially for a girl.

When you stand out; you’re odd.

When you dress up; you’re an attention seeker and when you don’t, they say no man will want you.

When you love yourself; you’re arrogant and if you don’t; you’re not mature enough.

Girl, I see you,

I see you searching for ‘How to lose weight’ on google all the time. And not even for yourself; but for the world.

I see you pinching parts of your face pointing out every flaw you can see.

I see you posting your pictures and deleting them minutes after. I see you taking 100 pictures and picking just 2.

I see you hiding your teeth when you smile. I see you sitting in a corner all alone; tapping your phone, pretending you’re not lonely.

I see you warding off those ignorant boys; hoping they’ll get the message.

 I see you crying on your bedroom floor, feeling terribly alone, your knees to your chest, your hand to your mouth so no one can hear your whimpers.

Here’s my advice.

 

Girl, Wipe Your Tears.

 

When I wrote ‘Messages I Can’t Send’, I had people texting, concerned I was being too public about my life. Maybe I was; I don’t know. But after thinking about it, I realized I could either think of all that pain and keep crying or I could write about it and use it to build my writer profile and gain influence. I made my choice and honestly, I’d do it again.

‘You have a choice to make. You could choose to let the patriarchy hold you down, you could choose to keep crying in the bathroom, you could choose to tone down your dreams so men can find it easy to marry you, you could choose to run and hide from the noise

 OR

 you could choose to find the noise and use it to send the right message, work toward every dream no matter how huge, love yourself and defy every boundary they set for you’

 

It’s your choice to make. I hope you make the right one. Thank you for reading. Thank you for being here. I love you and I can’t wait to see you shining like the star you are. So, Girl, Wipe those tears and work toward your beautiful destiny. And for every girl I called pretty before I called you brilliant, talented and wonderful; I’m sorry.

 

Left this poem for you;

My African Girl

You’ll never be invincible to me.

I’ll always adore you.

Your smile lights up the room.

Your skin sets their eyes on fire.

You’re beautiful.

You’re talented.

You’re smart and you have the potential to be the best version of yourself.

Your pain only makes you stronger.

Your tears make you glow up more.

My African Girl.

You’ll always be precious to me.

-Grace Adebayo, 2023.

 

Till we meet again.

Xoxo.