I should know how far beautiful I am,
but also be closest to the fact.

I am beauty in the words I speak,
I am beauty amongst beautiful people I meet,
I am beauty as the first to choose peace,
I am beauty to smile brighter when I'm weak,
I am beauty for it all resides in me,

I am beauty as a people of my land,
I am beauty as the many of ocean sands,
I am beauty for being proud of who I am,
I am beauty in the can't that I choose to can,

I am beauty of the moments I make,
I am beauty in the creations I shape,
I am beauty as I sleep and wake,
I am beauty for the many mercies and sake,
I am beauty because I see myself as great,

I am truly beautiful.

You'll have more bad days than good.
You'll experience more pain
than you should have to.
At times, you'll feel broken; weak.
But you're stronger than you would think.
And when you find that strength,
that reason to stand,
you will come to understand
you have new responsibilities.
Responsibilities to yourself.
To the ones you let in.
Even responsibilities to the ones
who get under your skin.
You've come so far already,
but there's still so much to do.
I'll leave you to it.
I just want you to know I'm proud of you.

When I think about the future with you I smile about the little things
I think about the late nights on the couch, eating leftover Chinese food and laughing until we cry
I think about the days at the pool, putting sunscreen on your back, and finding your sunglasses for you because you misplace everything
I think about the sunny afternoons, exhausted from the work day, and you're pouring me a drink and telling me you're so ******* proud of me

You may be wrong.
You may be right.
You may be crazy.
You may be big.
You may be small.
You may just be the smartest of them all.
You may be sad.
You may be bad.
You may be ****.
But what you are and always will be is you.
And when you become proud to be you,
There's almost nothing you can't do.

I celebrate my little steps,
They lead to great success,
Cause usually we move our legs
A bit, but go so far beyond the fence.

I get so proud of my own self,
And add another piece of puzzle,
And with the greatness of that sense,
I finish picture without struggle.

But let me honestly confess
It wasn't always so and wasn't better.
I used to often get obsessed,
Each mile didn't use to matter.

I ran a lot to catch the train,
The rest turned blurred and gray,
And if I tripped, get back again
Was painful, and cause of it, today...

I celebrate my little steps,
They lead to great success

You taught me I wanted to live
when I thought I wanted to die.
In my heart, I always knew,
but you reassured me it's okay to cry.
So that's why even though we live in a world that's drowning in fear,
it's a world I'm proud to live in.
Because you live here too.

Dark skinned and gifted,
high on all my ideas and imaginations.
All that keeps me forever lifted.

Brightness in my smile,
ten thousand years of wisdom behind my eyes.
Like the motherland I live in,
dearest mother has birthed a precious child.

Kissed by the African sun,
always dreaming under it's moon.
It dawns on my pride,
as I rest in it's afternoon.

You're worth is the worthy one
you have inside.
Hold onto that,
carry with it your African Pride.