Hi everyone!
It's been a while since I even looked at this story, let alone first started writing it.
As such, I find myself a little bit nervous to go back and read what 18-19 year old me wrote and thought. I'm a much different and more confident person now; I graduated, I have a big girl job, and, let me tell you, being busy and interacting with other adults really stops you having time to feel sorry for yourself. Based on that, the way I used to feel about myself just feels really sad and cringey looking back, since there are bigger things to care about than whether people like me, or whether I'll find love (people do, and I will).
I've decided to suck it up and reread this now, as I want to make sure that this is a story that I would have read at 14-19 years old, and found inspiration from, rather than validation of my insecurities.
Back then, I used this story as a way to vent all of the negative thoughts I had about myself, and I enjoyed that my readers, often other people like me, would feel the same way. I didn't feel as alone. But now it just makes me feel sad, I don't want teenage girls who looked like me to think that the way I felt at 18 is okay or normal. Just because it's common doesn't mean it's right.
I'm so proud of teenagers now, there's so much self-love, so many people stand up for themselves in a way that I wouldn't have, and people older than me might not have. So keep it going please!
As for this story, I'll be spending the next few weeks reading every chapter and making small edits. Nothing major, the story points will stay the same, but the things the characters say and the way they say it might be changed slightly. For example, sometimes I find Grace overly bitter, or whiny, which is often the way I feel about the old me.
I don't want to change Grace's entire character, part of her journey is that she learns to change the way she thinks about herself. But reading it back there's just so much 'woe is me' that I find it so hard to read. Also I no longer identify or agree with her reasons for changing. My goal is to make her a mirror for young black women who have similar thoughts about themselves, so I'd rather Grace be easier to sympathise with, rather than someone to pity.
If you want to go back and read again, please do! But nothing is majorly changing. Perhaps you'll get a different perspective on the characters and their motivations, but don't feel obliged.
Look out for chapter updates, and I'll post another new chapter to let everyone know when the rewrite is complete!
Love,
Serena x
P.S: Feel free to hit me up in my DMs! I'm happy to chat and share my socials with all of you. If anyone needs a big sis (I'm turning 23 in July I'm not that old lol) to talk to, I'm your girl.
YOU ARE READING
Uncommon (BWWM)
Romance"The Prince may love her, and she may share the same name, but this girl is no Grace Kelly" ~~~ Working class, black, and insecure. The opposite of the British princess stereotype. But Grace Roberts might just change the rules when she meets a hand...
