1. Leaves a comment on a participating blog post during the tour (May 17-June 1)
2. Posts a note about the tour on Twitter using the hashtag #bravelybeyou
Accept Myself, Not the Stereotypical Pretty Girl
By Mercy Carpenter
After eleven years of bugging my mom to straighten my hair, “Ow, ow, ow,”
I screamed, as the perm chemicals attacked my head.
But the hair dresser just shrugged and said “It doesn’t hurt that much. I just put the relaxer in.”
I started to get angry, so Michael, the hair dresser, put my head in the sink.
I stopped panicking and my grimace turned into a relaxed smile as the cold water skipped happily over my burning scalp.
“Am I done yet?” I asked impatiently, I wanted to see how I looked with “pretty” hair.
“Yes, you’re done. You can thank me after you look in the mirror.”
Eager to see myself in the mirror, I ran, smiling, and tripped. I frowned at myself, thinking that I always ruin a good moment. As I patted my hair, smoothing it down, the sound of my mother’s quick, sharp voice startled me, “Mercy don’t you want it to last until the morning? Honey, don’t mess it up.” I fixed the buttons on my shirt, walked towards my jacket, slipped it on and waited for my mom to pay Michael. I quietly tried to hide my excitement about the “new me”.
All I could think about was how I always wanted straight hair. I had a whole life of put downs targeted at my hair. I went home after that exciting day of having my hair done.
I thought my hair was ugly because of all the girls I saw in commercials, movies and different ads that promoted straight hair (never my kind of hair). That night I slept uncomfortably trying to keep my hair from being destroyed by my wild sleep habits. When I woke up, after I finished my rant about having to wake up so early, I took off my scarf to be surprised that my hair stayed so nicely. My mom combed through my now straightened hair. I put on my new outfit, brushed my braces until I could see myself clearly in them. I was ready for graduation day.
When I got to school I was greeted by, “I like your hair better like this,” or an occasional, “Omg, Mercy’s hair is fixed.” I felt as if I was one with the crowd. Now I could wear my hair free without someone messing it up, or humidity trying to and winning.
When I washed my hair, it didn’t turn out well. I took a look in the mirror and shrieked, “It… it is ruined…m-m-m…my hair!” With frequent sobs, I ran out of the bathroom and into the living room to tell my mom about my hair. But my mother’s expression remained calm, waiting for her daughter to calm down. Then my mother said, “When we got your hair straightened, it ruined your ends. We might just have to cut it.”
I interrupted, terrified, “Why? No. Please, no. I just want my regular hair back. The way it was before I got this stupid perm.”
Later on that day, I was thinking about my hair and how it is part of my heritage. I’ve always been proud of my heritage because it is a mixture of Native American, Nigerian and European. If I straightened my hair, maybe no one would know how proud I actually am. I am sure that no one could ever convince me again that my kind of hair is ugly. Even with all the commercials, ads and confused people I hear, I will always be myself. And even though I tried to camouflage myself before, I know I will always be myself from now on.
Lindsey Lohan
By Emily Carpenter
Today I saw Lindsey Lohan on the cover of the New York Post
And I’m thinking
Wow
Have we become so blind that we do not notice that shields are covering our eyes
They put up pictures of drunken celebrities
For this there is no need
Except to hide us from the truth
The truth about how millions die over seas
How children beg for their life on their hands and knees
And why is this happening more and more
To hide us from
Darfur
And Aids
And Genocide
The FBI
We consider Osama Bin Laden
A terrorist
When our very own government kills people who are trying to put this to rest
They killed a man who helped the sick
Tell me why is Assasta Shakur on the top ten
When our men can shoot a man 50 times
Because of what
Justice?
The fact is thousands died in the Rwandan Genocide of 94’
But no one did anything
Not even president Clinton
Tell me how did he help Bosnia and not Rwanda
This is not something to ponder
Its obvious that while this was going on
News about drunken celebrities was on
And they put Lindsey Lohan on the cover of the New York Post
They put Lindsey Lohan on the cover of the New York Post
While people run around killing and stripping people
Of their lives
Who are we to decide
Who lives and who dies
Who laughs and who cries
Right now a child loses her father
A mother loses a baby
A person
Bombs a country full of people
Tell me who needs help the most
and they put
Lindsey Lohan
On the cover
Of the New York Post
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 8:23PM 
