The Skin I'm In

Gotta realize that all you are is all you got.

To look in the mirror and like what you see, even when it doesn't look like your idea of beauty.

Don't go getting full of yourself becuase once you do, somebody's going to come and let the wind out of your sails

To look in the mirror and like what you see even if it's not your idea of beauty

I took a lot of wrong turns to find out who I really was. You will, too. (Page 19)

I'm like superman when I get Charlese's clothes on. I got a new attitude and my teachers sure don't like it none" ~page 4

Remember the acorn. Even when you don't see it growing, it's pushing past the dirt. Reaching for the sun. Growing stronger.

It takes a long time to accept yourself for who you are. To see the poetry in your walk,” she says, shaking her hips like she’s doing some African dance. Kids bust out laughing. “To look in the mirror and like what you see, even when it doesn’t look like anybody else’s idea of beauty.” For a minute,

″You gotta love yourself, baby. If you don’t, who will?″

You have to take a stand when things aren’t right.

You ain’t no kid. We divorced when you were what, in ninth grade? Seems like you’d be over it by now.

What does your face say to the world?

Maleeka, your skin is pretty. Like a blue-black sky after it's rained and rained.

They’re all good ones, Mr. Mac. Some of them just need more support than others.

Everybody is quiet. ″Who read the thirty pages I assigned last night?″ Miss Saunders asks. Most of the hands go up, including mine, even though I didn’t read none of it.