Dear Stereotypes,

I am not who you think I am based on all of your ridiculous stereotypes. Who even created the first stereotype on this planet Earth? I would love to meet him or her. I would love to meet the person who created these ideals of what a woman or man should be, or what a white person or black person is like. Listen, don't believe the hype. Stereotypes are just ridiculous ideas created by someone who lacks knowledge, but a mere perception of what he or she believes is the truth. But guess what, YOU ARE YOUR ONLY TRUTH, AND YOU ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO PROVE WHO YOU ARE TO NO ONE. If you know who you are, why do you care what Sammy at the nail salon thinks of you?!

I remember growing up playing sports and constantly being stereotyped. "She's a girl, she's not any good." "You're too pretty to play basketball." I was always too much of this, or too much of that to the 'others,' but I never believed the hype. I never let anyone tell me who or what I was going to do because I knew I was going to fulfill my destiny regardless of their opinion. I knew I was going to play sports, and I knew I was going to excel in all levels. And guess what, my too pretty self did just that. It was in this moment (achieving a collegiate athletic scholarship) when I realized there will never be anyone or anything that would be able to stereotype me .

I think a lot of my strength comes from the way our parents raised us, to always believe and to remain strong. My parents always told me I could be anything I wanted to be. My father was strict and never allowed me to settle for just outter beauty. We were raised on the notion that beauty comes from within. So the ideas of beauty never crossed my mind. I never wore makeup and I could care less if I was pretty enough. The only thing on my mind in my youth was my family, sports and having fun. With that being said, all of those stereotypes that were thrown at me I never entertained. I knew who I was because I was raised better than that than to fall to some dumb stereotypes.

In life, we will always be stereotyped or judged, that's just apart of human nature. I'm still judged to this day, but I do not care. We all have the right to have our own opinions, so just let it be. Let people stereotype you, judge you, and create these ridiculous stories - who cares?! Trust me, I don't. If I were you, I would break every damn stereotype by simply living in your truth. I've said it before and I'll say it again, don't believe the hype. All you need to do is to believe in yourself and to follow your destiny in this beautiful thing we call life. Don't let anyone bring you down. You keep YOU UP.  You enjoy your journey. You keep shining. I'll see you all at the top, shining bright like a diamond.

Stay true to you.

Xo, Blu