The Colors of Beautiful

By CaSaundra W. Foreman

Mya is on a journey! She wants to be a famous star. Just like anyone on the road to stardom, she must navigate through puberty, preteen drama, a roller coaster of emotions, insecurities and unreasonable adult expectations! But there's someone, who was once her age, helping Mya realize she's already a star and reminding her to shine! Based on a true story, and told from two different generational points of view, The Colors of Beautiful will inspire daughters, moms and grandmothers, too!

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Apr 21, 2019
• ISBN: 9781543969313

CaSaundra W. Foreman

CaSaundra W. Foreman has been writing since she was thirteen years old. Poetry was her first love. Her first article was published in a local newspaper when she was fourteen. She enjoys writing stories and poetry that will encourage and uplift others. She is the author of The Motherless Children and When An Angel Takes Flight/The Light. She has written for The Afrikan Posta, The Waco Tribune Herald, The Brazos News and The Anchor News. Her work has been published in the Voices of Nature and Reflections Magazine. CaSaundra lives in Waco, TX, where she is Youth Director for the Doris Miller Family YMCA. She has two sons, Marquis and LaBraska, and a granddaughter, Mya.

Book preview

The Colors of Beautiful is a work of fiction based on a true story. Some names have been changed to protect the privacy of certain individuals. Unless otherwise accredited to famous people, the poetry and prose contained in these pages are the original work of the author’s own creative mind.

Copyright © 2019 by CaSaundra W. Foreman

Illustrations by Edith Juanah

Icons used are credited to Microsoft Windows 10.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing, 2019

Print ISBN: 978-1-54396-930-6

eBook ISBN: 978-1-54396-931-3

Book Baby Publishing

7905 N. Crescent Blvd.

Pennsauken, NJ 08110

www.bookbaby.com

Contents

1

Grumpy Cat

2

Decisions! Decisions!

3

The Black Tutu

4

Too Much Sugar in Me

5

Knowledge is Power

6

Prayers & Dolls

7

Whatever

8

Ease on Down

9

The Colors of Beautiful

10

Those Tears

11

To Mya, Love Tacir

12

Young Star

13

Giving Thanks

14

Head Decorator

15

The Secret

16

Friday!!!

17

Granny

18

Choose Kindness

19

The Break

20

Busy Hands

21

Blue Balloons

22

Remembering 10

23

Letter to a Friend

24

Becoming

25

Overalls

26

Like A Bird

27

SUPERWOMEN

28

I GOT MAIL!!!!!!

The Challenge!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Tacir

For Mya, Kai’lee and girls everywhere;

ages -0 to 100+

May you learn to appreciate, be accepted for,

recognize & love your own

color of beautiful.

In remembrance of:

My mom, Lorene Halstied Foreman

My grandmothers,

Bessie Halstied & Ruth Foreman

My aunt, Lovetta Douglass

My sister by choice, Carlotta Harris

Jasmine’s Granny, Ruth Smith

& Mya’s Granny, Celestine Hobbs

You are truly missed!

I believe we’re born beautiful…

-Mya Foreman, Age 10

Curvy, petite, slender, plus size or just right-

Tall, short, medium or heel height-

Quiet, outspoken or the indecisive one-

Lots of friends, few friends or maybe even none-

You are POWERFUL!

Long or short hair, no hair, grey or colored hair-

Curly hair, straight hair,

natural hair or in transition hair-

Brown, hazel, blue, grey, green or

amber colored eyes-

Where joy, anger, depression

or unhappiness resides-

You are POWERFUL!

Confident, unsure, scared or sassy-

Transforming, rude, unfriendly or classy-

Flawless, hot mess or a work in progress-

Put to the test, failed or passed the test-

You are POWERFUL!

Beautiful, rich black, warm beige, pale pink, tanned or dark brown -

So down or been down but didn’t stay down-

Helping, hurting or ignoring-

Loving, hating or worrying-

You are POWERFUL!

-CaSaundra W. Foreman

1

Grumpy Cat

September 28

Journal Entry

Today is our birthday. Hers and Mine.

I often observe her looking in the mirror. I wonder what she’s thinking. I love the way she’s learned to see the beauty she possesses. She’s become more confident in her appearance. From the way she styles her hair, to the way she rubs her fingers across her creamy cocoa colored face. She takes extra special care to extract boogers from her nose and wipe the crust from her eyes. And let’s not forget the importance of applying lip gloss after brushing her teeth and spraying glitter on her skin! She has a specific method to putting together her outfits, and does a double take each time she sashays away from a mirror.

She’s been called a diva many, many times! The dictionary has several definitions for the adjective people use to describe her. The definition we are referring to describes her as a person who exudes great style and personality with confidence, (the confidence part she’s still working on) and expresses their own style; a person whose character makes them stand out from the rest. She’s a princess, too. Although, last year she made it clear to all of us when she turned ten, she didn’t want to be called princess anymore. She said the word princess was for babies, and she would be a young lady once she became ten.

I was sad…never thought of not being able to call her princess! The conversation went something like:

"Mya, you are a Princess, and someday, you’ll be a Queen."

I don’t care. When I turn ten, I’ll be a young lady, and I don’t want anyone to call me Princess. So, everyone has a year to come up with a new nickname for me.

She has an opinion…her own voice. She’s smart and extremely intelligent. She has feelings, and sometimes, they get hurt. She has a gorgeous smile and a contagious laugh. She has ambition and love in her heart for everyone. She also has a bratty side!

As she stands there, in front of the big mirror over the sink, getting ready for school, now, tall enough and big enough, undoubtedly old enough to do things for herself, I have flashbacks to a time years ago when she needed to stand on a green and blue step stool to wash her hands and brush her teeth at the sink. Not anymore.

She’s wearing a white t-shirt her mother bought her which has the words Birthday Girl written in glitter, a pair of jeans and tie-dye colored Converse shoes. Her long braids are perfectly in place, her invisible halo is fixed neatly above her head, her dimples are on display, self-esteem is oozing from head to toe, and she’s confident today will be an amazing day simply because it’s September 28th, our birthday.

I love sharing my birthday with her. Each year, I let her decide what we will do to celebrate our special day. No matter what she decides, cake and ice cream are important! She likes chocolate cake and mint chocolate chip ice cream. I like chocolate cake, but cookies and cream ice cream is one of my favorites. (Yes, I have several!) I wonder, as the years go by, and as she grows older and busier, if sharing her birthday with her grandmother will continue to have a special meaning for her.

When I was her age, I couldn’t wait for August 31. That’s when I’d create a September calendar with markers of various colors. I would circle the 28th in red and draw balloons on it, then cross off each day of September, counting down the days to my special day. My mother made every birthday a grand occasion for me. I remember one year, in addition to having a party with chili dogs, potato chips, red Kool-Aid, a homemade yellow cake with mocha flavored icing (homemade birthday cakes are the best, by the way) and vanilla ice cream, she orchestrated a scavenger hunt throughout our home. There was a clue in every room, and each clue led to a special gift.

As a child of the 1970s, I was introduced to Pippi Longstocking, a girl with freckles and long red plaits, which would often stick up in the air. She had a pet monkey named Mr. Nilsoon and a pet horse. From the first time I was introduced to Pippi Longstocking, I too, wanted a pet monkey. Every birthday and every Christmas for ten years, I asked my parents for a real pet monkey.

The day of the birthday scavenger hunt, one of the clues led to a brown stuffed monkey, wearing blue overalls. I named him Bruce. He was just one of the many stuffed pet monkeys I received from my parents.

From a conversation we had last week while eating dinner, I learned she too wants a real monkey for a pet! Good luck with that Princess. Lol.

I made a mosaic butterfly today. They say no two butterflies are the same which means butterflies are like people, because no two people are the same.

Mya asked me tonight why I like butterflies so much. I told her butterflies represent change, patience, hope, beauty, uniqueness, life, endurance and transformation. When she’s older, she will have a better understanding of what they stand for.

Happy Birthday…to Me! *C.F.*

Positive thought for today; Enjoy the good, pray about the bad, appreciate the beautiful, find beauty in the ugly, be inspired, share inspiration and be grateful for every moment.

Friday, 9-28

Dear Diary,

My name is Mya Foreman. Today is my birthday. I turned 10! You’re a birthday present from my Yaya. She told me to write in you every day. She said I should write about the good, the bad and the funny stuff. She said I should write down my feelings too. Today was a great day! I felt beautiful. My mom brought a cookie cake to my school so my class could celebrate with me. Jack was trying to put icing on my face, but I ended up putting it on his nose! Everyone was laughing. After school, I went out to eat pizza and celebrate with my Yaya and Uncle B. Today is my Yaya’s birthday too! Talk to you tomorrow.

Mya

What she didn’t write in her diary:

OMG!

That song is kind of annoying! I wish she’d pick a new song for her alarm.

Today is my birthday!!!!!

It’s my birthday…it’s my birthday…I wonder when my mom’s going to buy me a training bra. I think…it’s time. I’ll ask my Yaya if she’ll get some for me.

Good morning Princess! Happy birthday!!!

Mornin’ Yaya. Happy birthday to you, too!

Morning thoughts

I love what I see when I look in the mirror. My eyes, my nose, my lips, my dimples, my eye lashes, even my long legs. Sometimes I wonder why my skin is darker than my Yaya’s and my dad’s. Mom has pretty, cocoa brown skin like me. My Yaya always tells me everyone is their own color of beautiful, and to love the color of beautiful I am. I do. I believe I’m my own kind of beautiful. Mom and dad tell me I’m beautiful, and I don’t think they would lie to me. My Yaya tells me I need to believe I’m beautiful regardless of what anyone else thinks.

I wonder if I should tell people I don’t like it when they call her Yaya? She’s just my Yaya. I don’t want to be rude about it, but sometimes, I just want to scream at people, She’s not your Yaya!

I’m ready to take out my braids and wear my natural hair. I’m going to ask my mom again. I do love my braids, but I also like my natural hair. It’s part of what makes me unique.

At school

Victorya’s crying because of the mean girl! OMG! What’s that girl’s problem?? I don’t even want to share my cookie cake with her! Mom said I have to anyway. Fine, she can have a little piece!

After school

I’m sooooo happy Yaya and I decided to come to this fun painting studio for our birthday. I love coming here. I get to paint whatever I want. Last time, I painted a rabbit and Yaya painted a butterfly. She really likes butterflies! This time I’m going to paint my own mug. Every girl should have her own hot chocolate mug!

Let me see…I think I’m going to pick this grumpy cat mug. YEEEESSSS! This is my final decision. This grumpy cat, because it reminds me of Uncle B.

This cat will look good painted brown…and, I’ll paint his eyes turquoise and give him black whiskers! I think he’ll look good with a black frown! Let’s see… what else……purple and turquoise stripes around the grumpy cat. The specs of glitter in the paint will give my mug a perfect look once it’s fired in the kiln.

Yep! I’m proud of my finished project, and I can’t wait to start drinking out of my own mug!

Yaya’s purple and turquoise butterfly is pretty. We like the same colors. Uncle B’s cat is funny looking!

An ice cream cake for Yaya and a mint chocolate chip cone for me from Baskin-Robbins. Uncle B says it’s her special birthday treat because she believes everyone should have cake and ice cream on their birthday.

I love spending time with my Yaya. This day has been

AWESOME!

Later

I love looking through my photo albums with my dad. He’s so funny. He keeps making me laugh!

Ahhhhhh………. I was cute in that picture.

I remember that day!

O my, I don’t remember being that little.

That was taken at my birthday party at the amusement park and this one was taken at the skating rink. Look at my tutu!

Awwwwweeeeee……. look at me in my Princess Tiana dresses! I had two…wore the first one until it fell apart.

I love this one of me with my Cabbage Patch doll whose name also happens to be Mya. We look just alike with our two teeth showing and bows on top of our heads in the picture.

Look at all these pictures of me with my dad. My hair is going crazy in that one. Teeheehee

Awe, Christmas Eve when I took my first steps, trying to get to Uncle B.

I’ve really grown a lot over the years. I used to be a chubby baby. Lol. Not anymore. I’m 10 now. A preteen!!!!

…the power and the glory…forever…and God, thank you for letting me and my Yaya have a good birthday and thank you for keeping my family safe today. Amen.

2

Decisions! Decisions!

October 2

Journal Entry

An intense feeling of deep affection; this is the definition of love. We are taught love as children and learn what it is as we grow up. We learn love from our parents, family and friends. We learn about love in songs and movies and read about love in books and magazines.

Build-A-Bear is a symbol of love for many girls. My bedroom is currently covered in Build-A-Bear love because Mya has fallen in love on numerous occasions while visiting the Build-A-Bear store at the mall. She’s found love in yellow ducks, purple, pink and white kittens, green frogs and turtles, brown rabbits, pink monkeys, as well as pink, brown, tan, rainbow and tie-dye colored bears in various sizes.

I have no doubt she loves me because she tells me all the time. When I picked her up from school today, I saw a look of