We Are Always Worthy | In the Silence

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

Cover of You Should See Me in a Crown

Hyper-focused on her plans to get into the school that will unlock her dreams, Liz finds herself on a journey to secure the school scholarship that comes along with being prom queen — something she could’ve never seen herself doing. You Should See Me in a Crown explores all the things Liz encounters along the way — identity, teen/high school drama, love, and more — in this cute and fun read. Young adult literature brings me a lot of joy, perhaps even more so as an adult but particularly as an adult — and as a Black woman — existing in a world where living feels synonymous with struggling. Leah Johnson reminds us through this story that we are still always worthy. We are always worthy of being different, being miracle, being magic, being happy endings, being royalty, and being deserving of good things.

Like maybe things don’t need to be exactly as I’ve imagined them. Like maybe in this universe I’ve suddenly found myself in, things could be different. I could be different.

Because here, always, we deserve this good thing.

There is no world in which we’re not both miracle and magic, in which we’re not worthy of every happy ending. Thank you for teaching me how to wear my crown. (Acknowledgements)

Being in “me season” while I’m away at school continually pushes me to believe this for myself as deeply and as wholeheartedly as possible. It is easy to feel typecast into the roles society, family, friends, coworkers, and others have perceived you as and not give yourself permission to keep finding yourself. And to be different, yet perhaps even more you, than you have ever been before. There is beauty in knowing that you have yet to become all that you can be or experienced all that you will experience. The best is truly yet to come.

I was born royalty. All I had to do was pick up my crown.

One of the best things we could do in our life is to give ourself permission to be ourself. We deserve that life. We are worthy of that life. Always.

|Renée|

more quotes:

I just want you to know that you can rest, Lizzie, baby.’ She kisses the top of my head softly. ‘I got you when you’re ready to rest.

I never let terrible people get away with doing terrible things. And two, if something is wrong, I say something about it. Always.

But terrible people aren’t always the ones doing something wrong. Good people mess up too, but that doesn’t mean we should let it slide.

They’re honestly my favorite type of ally: the kind that puts their money where their mouth is.

I have two cakes on the table, just like Granny taught me: “One for the goose and one for the gander.” I’m not entirely sure what that means, but I know that come Thanksgiving we always have twice as much dessert as we need, and I don’t believe in putting a question mark where God put a period.

You can never be too careful when it comes to eating white folks’ food.

Silence and shame aren’t the same thing — not by a longshot. But sometimes silence is simpler.

I don’t want to hide things from her — part of me, a big, scary part of me, wants to tell her everything.

The songs all start out big, so much sound you can’t begin to process it all, but it comes together in this wild, magical way. The beauty is in the imperfection. The way they control and navigate it.

Campbell is never going to make a space for me to fit. I’m going to have to demand it.

Just because it could be worse doesn’t mean you don’t get to acknowledge how much it sucks, you know.

We cry, but we don’t cry long. We feel, but we always fight. It’s the Lighty Way.

And I realize that she always looks like that, like she’ll always be there when I come back.

To read more of my book-based musings, visit In The Silence.

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