one shade away

I’ve always been one shade off and I love it.

In middle school, all of the cool girls started to paint their nails black. The black polish was the coolest thing in seventh grade. I remember begging my Mom to let me paint my fingers and toenails black, but she refused. I can’t remember why exactly, but it was a big debacle. Until I found a way around it. I painted my nails, dark brown. I wasn’t the cool girl with black nail polish, but I had dark brown nail polish and that was only one shade away from being cool.

Translate that to my life now.

I could make myself skinny enough to be the cookie-cutter musical theatre girl, but I also had the tattoos and body features that made me.

I could use boom cards and the typical toys used in speech therapy sessions, but I could also level up and add some music and theatre.

I have always found a way to almost be the same as those around me, but to still keep my differences and special spark. Be the brown nail polish in a world of black painted nails.

Growing up and even in your work now, are you the brown or black nail polish?