Beauty is POWER

“Imperfection is Beauty, Madness is Genius, and it’s better to be absolutely Ridiculous than absolutely Boring” — Marilyn Monroe. These are the words that pushed Marglucy Omwega (Wellesley College ’22) to become the confident boss of a woman she is today. She shares with us that oftentimes people will expect you to be perfect without knowing your story and what you’re going through. These labels, regardless of if they’re positive or negative, build up a lot of insecurities. These words remind her that perfection is kind of boring, the routine doesn’t leave room for you to try new things or be spontaneous. So to be true to herself, Marglucy has begun to shed the pain from beauty and sit in its power instead, a message she hopes to share with her peers.

DEFINING OURSELVES

Who are you?

“My name is Marglucy even though everybody calls me Maggie” is how our conversation began. And very quickly we were met with how open, honest, and vulnerable she was willing to be. She shared that at times it feels like Marglucy and Maggie are two different people and she feels more comfortable being Maggie even though she wants to be proud of her name. Marglucy is definitely the more serious of the two who you’d probably meet in a business meeting. But regardless of the name, she says that she’s a nurturer. She’s just begun to discover her purpose in life but based on her relationships with her friends and family she believes she was meant to be that caring person for others. Marglucy loves to check in on people and you can find her procrastinating by knocking on all the doors in her hall and checking on others. She’s also a lover of art and photography and she hasn’t explored those passions as much as she would like. There’s this pressure to fulfill your parents expectations that can hinder you, but Marglucy is starting to question “do I want to make my parents happy? Or do I want to make myself happy?” So as she goes on this journey of self discovery those are some of the questions she keeps with her.

What do you do?

“When I’m home, I binge-watch and sleep. Leaving Boston means I get to relax.”

And when you’re as active on campus as Marglucy, finding the time to relax is important. She is the current Beauty Chair of ETHOS, Wellesley’s organization for students of African descent. As Beauty Chair she hosts hair and makeup classes and has a Colorism talk planned via Zoom. Colorism is a topic she’s been passionate about for a while and being able to host the talk was super important to her. It’s why she wanted to be Beauty Chair in the first place, to help ETHOS members think critically about their relationship with beauty and how colorism and texturism plays a direct role in that. Marglucy is also on the executive board for Wellesley’s African Student Association (WASA) as their treasurer. She mentioned that she wishes the greater Boston African student community was more united and had more opportunities for collaboration, which is why she took a leadership role in the organization.

She also serves as a community inclusion facilitator where she leads oppression and privilege workshops and supports any campus groups with social justice topics and training. In the classroom she’s been able to excel and was recently named a new McNair Scholar, so she’ll be participating in a program meant to help students successfully prepare for graduate school. And finally, outside of Wellesley, Marglucy can be found taking photos, doing makeup, or modeling.

How has COVID-19 impacted your work?

For Marglucy and many others, social distancing and self-isolation has created a lot of space for self reflection and an opportunity to not only question our purpose but search for the answer. She asks herself questions like “How am I living life to the fullest today?” and “How does this bring me joy?” Some of the work that has come out of this is her blog Wow Melanin, where she took the time to write about Colorism and share her thoughts. The amount of support she received when starting the blog was surprising for her because she hadn’t felt like anyone was looking to listen to a dark-skinned Black girl, so she was shocked but in the best of ways. Again, like many others, Marglucy also faced some challenges during this time. In particular the fall semester was a very draining and difficult semester for her mental health, so she’s been slow at getting started again, but she is starting. That’s the most important thing, never losing the intention to create. Because soon enough we can hope that we’ll be in a position to have the capacity to create and the last thing we want to do is to have lost that spirit and drive.

BOSTON

What brought you to Boston?

College is a time for you to explore the world and grow into the young adult you hope to become. For Marglucy, the daughter of strict Kenyan parents, this meant trying to go to school away from home. So in her senior year when her last two choices were a school in Boston and a school 8 minutes from her house, she decided to join the rest of us up here who are just trying to figure it all out. Surprisingly enough, she didn’t know Wellesley was a historically women’s college until she came for a spring visit. While she was here she met some awesome Kenyan seniors who helped her feel more comfortable with the campus. During admitted student weekends it can feel like everyone is trying to sell you on a dream, and you can’t tell where the truth ends and where some exaggerations begin. Being able to talk to students about their real experiences was assuring to Marglucy, well that and the fact she went to boarding school when she was younger so it didn’t feel all to foreign. During her admitted student weekend she walked into Harambee House and was blown away, all she remembers was that everyone had really amazing hair and that made her feel really comfortable with this community. On top of the great vibes and feeling like she could see herself in these women she had met, Marglucy wanted to experience people from all over the world and Wellesley (and more broadly, Boston) felt like the best place for her to do that.

What has your experience been like?

“Boston’s very interesting” could have been her entire answer and made complete sense. Thankfully, Marglucy did take the time to explain what Boston has been like for her. Important context to keep in mind is that Wellesley is actually a 20 minute drive (40+ minutes during rush hour) out of the city. So in Marglucy’s experience she’s felt very secluded, and going into the city every weekend is an option but it can be kind of a lot. When she first came to Wellesley, Marglucy was very shy so breaking out of her shell and socializing with people was a skill she developed here. Coming from the DMV she says “the parties, the music..it was surprising, shocking” and everything closes way too early for her taste (1am just doesn’t make sense)!

What she didn’t realize was that Boston was like “the college capital of the US” which meant there were so many people, everywhere, all of the time. But still, food can be a struggle, if you don’t know someone from here it can be hard to figure out where exactly you need to go. Even though Black Boston exists and has a very rich culture it can feel like for good food, art, and music you need to know people who are in the know to get a true experience.

Marglucy hoped to find a Kenyan community here which didn’t happen but she did find a really cool East African community that makes her miss home a little less. Impostor syndrome sneaks up on you swiftly in Boston where academics are such a big thing. Like so many other students here, Marglucy felt like her high school didn’t properly prepare her. Add to that you’re one student at a school that is 5–10% Black students, internal and external doubt is not uncommon. But what helped Marglucy was meeting amazing mentors and leaning on the community you do have here. That way, when someone else needs it, you’ll be able to return the favor.

There are amazing people here and that’s what makes Boston such a great place, everyone is really cool.

HOLLA!

How do you stay motivated?

Marglucy: Motivation can be a tricky thing. The fear of failing is scary because if you fail you don’t know where you’ll end up and that unknown is scary to me.

The HollaDay: Why is that unknown so scary?

M: Well, I don’t want to disappoint my family. I’ve been given this great opportunity to go to school here and so many people have worked so hard for me to be here I have to make sure I’m really utilizing this opportunity.

H: Is that the only thing driving you?

M: Of course not. Now, just waking up and being thankful for being alive is enough motivation for me. But also seeing people with less than me. When I went to Tanzania I saw people without much who still got up everyday and did what they needed to do to survive and they were still so kind to each other and to me.

H: Yeah, that seems like the type of experience that really shifts your perspective.

M: It definitely did. I think in that way, staying true to myself also keeps me motivated. Heaving a very clear “why” is important in all that I do. So I’m working on how to be healthy and kind and nurturing in the way nature heals. I hope to do the same. But honestly? I’m just trying to get out of Wellesley and see where the world takes me.

What do you love most about Black women?

To Marglucy, Black women embody strength and resilience. They deal with so much that they never asked for. You have to be enough for yourself and others, and then you’re expected to put them first. This has helped her understand her mom better. She was Marglucy’s first role model as an independent woman and becoming everything that she wanted to be. Cultural norms still make it difficult for women, especially Black women, to feel like they can be their own person. Marglucy gets the same weird looks now too as she grows into the women she hopes to be. When they show the side of themselves that’s independent and self-sufficient, they’re seen as stubborn. Marglucy wants people to stop speaking for Black women where they were not invited nor asked. Marglucy wants people to genuinely fight for and protect Black women. Most of all, Marglucy wants us to consider, how could we even exist without Black women?

Our conversation with Marglucy was phenomenal. We took the time to sit and listen, we observed the quiet dignity she possesses and we are nothing but thankful to have had this opportunity. As we move about in the world, let’s think about how we can be kinder, how we stay true to ourselves, and most of all how we can make the world better. We’re so thankful for them and the work they do in our community — now and in the future. Follow them on IG (@_wowmelanin) to keep up with what they’re doing!

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