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Welcome, Fellow Black Bonnet Girls (BBG),
👋🏾It’s Kiarra — a Black Bonnet Girl learning, unlearning, and softening in real time. What started as a space for flash fiction stories—tender vignettes capturing the beauty and complexity of life through the lens of Black girls and women—has grown into something more layered. Now, Black Bonnet Girls is a home for both creative storytelling and personal reflection.
Through my Lessons from My 20s series, I’m peeling back the curtain on what it means to grow up, love deeply, heal loudly (or quietly), and navigate the in-between spaces of becoming. Some entries are journal-style letters to myself. Others are fictional windows into truths I’m still learning how to name.
Whether you’re here for the stories or the soul work—or both—this space is for you. For the ones who feel deeply, reflect often, and are learning to give themselves the softness they once denied.
The Blog
Ode to my Headband (Original)
Wrapped tight but never hidden, the headband becomes more than an accessory—it’s a quiet declaration. This story explores how Black women use hair, fabric, and ritual to claim softness without surrendering strength. Reflects on control, culture, and care, and how a piece of cloth calms coils, quiets scrutiny, and makes room for softness.
Kiarra
Dec 29, 20252 min read
3 A.M.
At 3 a.m., Shaw slept—trains passing, stars shining, houses quiet. I was awake, meant to be cleaning our room, the space Ivy and I had shared since the womb. Her side was immaculate; mine lived and breathed. Usually, those hours were freedom. But this night was different. I wasn’t smoothing sheets or wiping stains. I was holding Ivy’s cold hand, tubes breathing for her, wishing with everything in me that this were just another ordinary night.
Kiarra
Dec 23, 20253 min read
Unruly.
Unruly explores the quiet story living inside every coil, curl, and strand. It speaks to how we’re taught to bend and straighten ourselves into shapes we were never meant to hold, and what it means to unlearn that. This piece reflects on identity, generational patterns, and the freedom that comes when we finally see our beauty as it is — not as it’s been defined for us.
Kiarra
Nov 27, 20251 min read
Entry 16: Secrets Hurt - Pandora’s Box
Secrets carry a weight heavier than we imagine. When truth is unearthed, it doesn’t just sting—it shakes foundations and unleashes emotions long suppressed. I learned that while my mind seeks preparation, only my heart can guide me through the storm. Vulnerability, though painful, has become the path toward growth and self-trust.
Kiarra
Aug 17, 20254 min read
Entry 15: Showing Up For Me
As a child, I longed for my parents to show up at school performances, awards, or milestones, but they rarely came. I learned to expect less and hope less. Now, in my 20s, I show up for myself — to work events, dinners, and life moments. It doesn’t erase the sting of the past, but it reminds me I am worth showing up for.
Kiarra
Aug 14, 20253 min read
Entry 14: Outgrowing The Past
I once lived like Winter—numb, armored, and distant. Now in my 20s, I feel more like Fall—warm, colorful, and open to connection. I’m outgrowing the constant vigilance, the heavy armor, and the belief that people aren’t worth knowing. Slowly, I’m learning to embrace both the light and dark, and it feels like healing.
Over time, my inner season began to shift. I started to feel like Fall—warmer, more open, painted in the reds, oranges, and golds of change.
Kiarra
Aug 11, 20253 min read
Entry 13: Healing Work In Progress
In my 20s, therapy became my hidden season of internal work. It was messy, uncertain, and invisible to others, but it planted seeds of healing. I learned that shame wasn’t who I was but what I carried. Slowly, I began to release it, reminding myself: I am not the problem—my healing is blooming quietly from within.
Kiarra
Jul 29, 20253 min read
Entry 12: For The Sake Of The Greater Good
For years, “I’m fine” became my shield in survival mode—masking exhaustion, pain, and unspoken emotions. In my 20s, I’ve learned that being fine doesn’t mean silencing my feelings. It means allowing anger, sadness, and joy to exist, giving voice to the parts of myself I once buried for the greater good.In the moment, it didn’t feel like it.
Kiarra
May 17, 20256 min read
Entry 11: Healing In Motion
Healing is like a train—always moving, sometimes forward, sometimes back, with no fixed destination. Through therapy, I learned healing isn’t about quick fixes or prescriptions, but about voicing truths, uncovering hidden thoughts, and embracing progress with grace. Healing is motion, not perfection.
Kiarra
May 15, 20253 min read
Entry 10: From Surviving To Thriving
From Surviving to Thriving reflects on the shift from hustle-driven exhaustion to intentional living. During the pandemic, slowing down opened space for creativity, healing, and rediscovery. Writing became a bridge between survival and joy, transforming pressure into possibility. Thriving isn’t abandoning hustle—it’s reshaping it into balance, creativity, and self-tending.
Kiarra
May 13, 20253 min read
Entry # 9: Success Beyond The Numbers
Success Beyond The Numbers redefines what it means to achieve. True success isn’t just metrics or constant performance—it’s a balance between heart and strategy, results and relationships. As women, we don’t need to shed softness or vulnerability to thrive. Success can be warm, collaborative, and deeply human, rooted not only in outcomes but in how we impact lives along the way.
Kiarra
May 11, 20252 min read
Entry 8: Anxiety Fuels My Betrayal
Anxiety Fuels My Betrayal explores how anxiety can silence desires, dim opportunities, and mask vulnerability with indifference. It reflects on the self-betrayal of saying no when you want to say yes, and the lifelong journey of unmasking fear.
Kiarra
May 9, 20253 min read
Entry 7: Healing In Progress
Healing In Progress is an honest reflection on what it means to accept that people cannot give what they don’t have. For so long, I measured love, attention, and understanding by what I wanted, not by what others were capable of giving. The absence of those things used to anger me, leading me to cut people off. But with age comes perspective.
Kiarra
May 6, 20252 min read
Entry #6: Progressing Rather Than Arriving
Progress isn’t about arriving—it’s about evolving. Confidence, success, and self-love aren’t boxes to check but ongoing journeys shaped by choices, boundaries, and growth. True strength lies not in perfection but in honoring the sacred checkpoints: saying no when you’re unseen, choosing spaces that value you, and embracing rest as resistance. Life is not about “arriving” but progressing with intention and authenticity.
Kiarra
May 1, 20253 min read
Entry # 4: Introversion Is Not Less Than
Introversion is not less than—it’s a strength. Too often, introverts are seen as quiet, aloof, or missing out, when in reality our quiet strength is rooted in reflection, intentional living, and authentic connection. Honoring solitude helps us recharge, deepen empathy, and move with clarity. Choosing peace over pressure, we embrace self-acceptance and protect our energy in a world that often misunderstands us.
Kiarra
Apr 20, 20254 min read
Entry 5: Strength Beyond Survival
Strength has long been tied to survival—showing up, pushing through, and never giving up. But true strength is more than a facade. It’s persistence, forgiveness, vulnerability, resilience, and faith. It’s letting tears fall, asking for help, and choosing hope even in the darkest of days. Strength is not just survival—it’s the courage to be authentic, trust God, and embrace both resilience and release.
Kiarra
Apr 19, 20254 min read
Entry #3: Loving What’s Real
Learning to love what’s real means embracing flaws, quiet truths, and imperfect beauty—stepping away from performance-based love and into the freedom of authenticity.
Kiarra
Apr 19, 20253 min read
Entry #1: Discovery
Looking back at the photos, I’m proud of my 20-year-old self for baking cookies and donuts, and
Whipping up soups, stews, and my favorite—chicken pot pie—was all new but certainly brought me joy.
Kiarra
Apr 15, 20252 min read
Entry #2: What I Thought I Needed vs. What I Actually Needed
Okay, so I’ll raise my hand and admit I’ve done therapy wanting to know why I think the way I do or do the things I do — beyond what my own understandings are or were. And honestly, no regrets. I hate the stigma around therapy and just the narrative that something must be— had to be — wrong with you to seek mental health help. Maybe there is, but isn’t there something wrong with all of us? Anyway, a pivotal moment or session, I should say, was...
Kiarra
Apr 14, 20254 min read
Mirror, Mirror on The Wall
Her childhood brush with the soft bristles laid overturned on the bathroom’s titled floor—coiled strands of oily black hair .
Kiarra
Mar 28, 20252 min read
The Clouds
Looking up now, I wondered what he saw that convinced him that way was the way — which cloud was responsible for leading him astray?
Kiarra
Feb 17, 20252 min read
Colors of the Rainbow (The Original Version)
hen someone you love dies, they say you see them in everything: from the chipped coffee mug to the toothbrush with the worn bristles or even
Kiarra
Oct 27, 20242 min read
The Things My Mama Taught Me
“Why did I have to be a girl?” I grumbled, arms crossed tight against my chest, wincing as Mama combed out yet another nasty tangle in my ha
Kiarra
Oct 26, 20245 min read
Grandma Katherine
Everyone calls me K.C, except for Grandma Katherine. “Why would you go and butcher such a beautiful name?” She’d ask with one hand on her hi
Kiarra
Dec 7, 20235 min read
The Colors of The Rainbow
Death was always a possibility. The moment Leo told me about his leukemia, it was the first thing that came to my mind.
Kiarra
Dec 1, 20233 min read
Terrance
Every Sunday, my younger sister Nichelle would wedge herself between my legs, ready for our ritual—me styling her 4C hair into whatever new look she found online. She’d flinch as the wide-tooth comb worked through stubborn knots, her silky black bonnet waiting for the final touch. These moments were more than hair—they were our time to talk. She’d bring up people and memories I wasn’t ready to revisit, like Terrance.
Kiarra
Nov 22, 20235 min read
Love Dripping with Regrets
None of them needed to express why they were here using distorted rhetoric, honey-coated lips, or any of the complex words they learned to attain their degrees. One word was enough. Regrets. He arrived there first, shoving his hands in his pockets. If anyone asked, he would blame it on the cold. " Just trying to 'em warm ." Honestly, it was to do something with them. He didn't want to clench them in regret or let them hang loosely by his side as if he had truly let go of it a
Kiarra
Nov 22, 20234 min read
The Black Bonnet Girls
It was that time of year again—the Girls were ready. They carried the highs and lows of the year like luggage, but this weekend was their release. They ate, laughed, and avoided old wounds—until Leo’s name slipped out. Silence fell, memories rushed in, and the weight of loss pressed heavy. By night’s end, glasses of wine in hand, they leaned back in perfect sync, Black Bonnets crowning their heads. The world was far away; here, they were safe, seen, and together. And they’d s
Kiarra
Nov 22, 20235 min read
“We write for the same reason that we walk, talk, climb mountains or swim the oceans – because we can. We have some impulse within us that makes us want to explain ourselves to other human beings.”
– Maya Angelou
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