It's easy to feel insecure about being different, especially when your differences are blatant and show on the surface- like in the form of skin color. Sometimes, despite your better judgment, it's easy to want to resent that thing that makes you so obviously different. Embrace your ethnicity and take pride in what makes you stand out; being born with such a beautiful culture is a blessing. Humans have a desire to be accepted, and to all my fellow Indians, here's a reminder that you are accepted and that anybody who makes you feel inferior because of your color is wrong. Here's some proof.
1. Clothes and colors on brown skin
Darker-skinned girls look absolutely stunning in bright and warm colors. The darker our skin is, the more our clothes pop! Some of my personal favorite colors on my skin tone include mustard, white, red and black. Also, Indian formal clothes are breathtakingly intricate, and nothing makes me feel confident and beautiful like wearing a chaniya choli does.
2. Thick hair
If you've never had a hairdresser or a friend playing with your hair mention how pretty and thick your hair is, you need to seriously reconsider the type of people you let into your life! Sure, sometimes the frizziness and sheer volume of your hair can get annoying, but honestly, in the end, your hair makes up for the annoyance with its beauty.
3. Dances
No matter the style - Garba, Bollywood, Kathak, Bharatanatyam, or another - Indian dances are lively and expressive. They're fun to perform, to watch, catchy, and the costumes are always stunning and draw the eye. One of my greatest feelings of pride in Indian culture is that it's always brimming with so much energy.
4. HOLIdays
Holi is one of my favorite days of the year, and I can't help but fall in love with the shrieking, unbridled fun that represents the most unrestrained and widespread color war I've been a part of. There's a beauty in watching people participate in Holi, and there's an even greater beauty in participating yourself. There is no holiday in existence that is more fun or more exciting than Holi.
5. Food
From an assortment of colorful sweets (honestly, what about our culture isn't colorful?) to foods so spicy they'll leave you gasping, Indian cuisine is truly unique. There are countless options and dishes due to the blending of many different cultures. Something they all have in common? Indian food is unbelievably delicious!
6. Hrithik Roshan
What other convincing could you possibly need?
