My natural skin tone is

My natural skin tone is not Valencia

or Inkwell

or even Earlybird.

I am not just a frozen smile on a screen

I am not the dramatic, piercing blue eyes that stare blankly ahead

just as I am not the quiet girl in the front of the classroom who always has her work done

or the girl who sits at the family parties alone

or the girl who doesn't want to sweat in gym class.

If I could take the filter off,

every single filter in my life,

I would be so full of life that these people wouldn't know what to do.

I'd burst into song

I'd pray

I'd laugh and I'd cry.

They'd know exactly who I am,

not just smart

but strong

faithful

loud

anxious

and creative.

They'd wonder why I was covered in glitter.

They'd wonder why I'm barefoot.

They'd wonder why my hands were drenched in charcoal and paint.

Some might ask,

"Why are you lying on the ground? It's raining."

And I'd be able to look them straight in the eye and say, 

"This is the closest we'll get to the sky falling, and this is the closest I'll get to a mud bath spa treatment in my life."

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