Firstly, let me not mislead you. I won't be listing out misconceptions but I will be discussing depression in Jamaica, based on my own experiences.Is it wrong to say, "I am depressed"? It often feels that way. As young people, what should we really have to be depressed about? I can truthfully say that I have struggled with depression on and off from my childhood but due to the stigma attached to depression, especially in young people, I kept quiet. I suffered in silence until it became unbearable. Then, I opened up. When I started to open up, I was mocked, told I was too weak, and that I wasn't trying hard enough to make my life better. Speaking up, could send you into an even deeper depression.  What happens? We become even more withdrawn or in some cases it manifests itself into anger and we damage relationships and friendships. What about family? Ideally family should be the first source of comfort and understanding but that often isn't the case. Parents

Growing up, I enjoyed getting books as gifts. Reading was something that my mother took seriously. I could read exceptionally well before I even began infant school, due to my mother's teachings. I loved skipping through the pages of beautiful children's book, but even at that young age, I noticed that something was missing. I wasn't in these books. I didn't see faces that looked like mine, I didn't see hair that looked like mine. I said to myself then, that one day I would write a book that I could see myself in. Little did I know, but one day this would indeed be a reality. I'm all grown up now and this book is now a reality for little girls of colour to skip through and see themselves in. I want this book to give them a space to realize that they don't need to change who they are and that they should love and appreciate their beautiful dark skin and the beautiful crown on their heads. It starts with the youngest members of the Kingdom. If the

The Curly Hair Club is the story of one girl named Carly, who struggles to love her natural hair. Carly not only overcame her struggles, but she allowed other girls like her to fall in love with their natural hair as well.   Your natural hair is beautiful! This book was created to encourage little girls to love their natural hair. This is the story of Carly ’ s journey to loving her hair and everything that comes with it. Little girls will find acceptance in this book and grow to love their hair as well. I hope after reading this book, it will encourage more love and acceptance of natural beauty. The Curly Hair Club can be purchased on Amazon by clicking this link   http://a.co/8juqYPC  

Image source: Google Images His beautiful dark skin made rich from the earth, his physical strength supporting where I am physically weak, his beautiful smile and then the depth of his speech. In a world where the wrongs that he has done is spoken about more frequently than what is good about him. I see the beauty in black unions,I see the beauty in black souls connecting, I see beauty in being by his side. The issue is, he no longer sees beauty in me. We walk paths these days paved with the broken connections. Couples who once professed to be so deeply in love now pretend to not know each other. We walk paths  where you can pour the purest of love into the vessel of a man/woman and they remain empty. On one side, we have black men who believe that black women have lost their worth. They have lost the meaning of what it means to be a Queen. The black man believes that the black woman has wrapped herself in the labels that society has placed on her. The black woman is often vi