Creative Genius
A series by HGTV & DIY Networks
Be Ready Beautiful is a piece that is an ode to youth and warning to my nieces and nephews. I want them to enjoy her youth but also be aware and ready for everything that is coming in her teenage and adult years to come. The culture has a lot to say about Black people and how they should look, how they should be, and how they should act. I want this piece to remind them that they don't have live by that. Each one of them can be different and still worthy of love.
Each piece is derived from this poem I wrote:
Be ready beautiful,
For the day you’ll have
to stand before in the glory of the son.
Bathing in the rays that set sky ablaze,
That raised the dead,
Whose blood was shed.
For the day you’ll have
to stand before in the glory of the son.
Bathing in the rays that set sky ablaze,
That raised the dead,
Whose blood was shed.
Be ready beautiful.
This world refuses to understand you.
The way your hair defies gravity.
The might of your melanin.
The resilience in your brow.
You're a sea of magic,
let them wonder,
forever.
This world refuses to understand you.
The way your hair defies gravity.
The might of your melanin.
The resilience in your brow.
You're a sea of magic,
let them wonder,
forever.
Enjoy your youth while you can.
Run wildly.
Sing loudly.
Wrestle relentlessly.
Make imaginary friends.
Be happy and hopeful,
and when life starts,
Be ready beautiful.
Run wildly.
Sing loudly.
Wrestle relentlessly.
Make imaginary friends.
Be happy and hopeful,
and when life starts,
Be ready beautiful.
Producer/Cinematographer: Francisco Aliwalas