Once upon a time in a kingdom called Hollywood, there lived a beautiful young African American woman named Gabourey Sidibe.

All Gabourey's life, she longed to go to the Hollywood stars ball. But there was a problem. Gabourey was overweight, and only Slinderellas were allowed to attend the Hollywood ball.

The Slinderellas ate lettuce and nuts all day long. Gabourey had been known to eat a whole bucket of fried chicken while walking down the street, and she was fat.

Gabourey's ugly stepbrother, Howard Stern, ridiculed her because of her size. He told her: Get real. You will never be allowed into the Hollywood ball! You are a fat, black chick!

What kind of name was Gabourey Sidibe? others snidely asked. Most of the Slinderellas had names like Sandra, Kathryn and Monique (Monique was not exactly a Slinderella, but she was the best actress and made everyone think she was thin.)

But Gabourey refused to give up, for she knew that she was beautiful, smart and talented, and she was sure that she could find some way to gain entrance to the ball.

Suddenly her fairy godparents (aka Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey) appeared. Her fairy godparents believed in Gabourey, for they knew that she was not only beautiful and talented but that she was also PRECIOUS!

Howard Stern and the rest of Gabourey’s ugly step-family sneered: How do you think that your fat foot will ever fit into the glass slipper? The Slinderellas all wear glass slippers when they walk on the red carpet on their way to the ball. They all wear beautiful gowns. What kind of gown will they make to fit you, they laughed.

But Gabourey refused to hear the naysayers. She believed in herself and her talent. She knew that if she worked hard, a place could be found for her. And she was smart enough to know that glass slippers also came in wide sizes, and that beautiful gowns also came in extra large.

So Gabourey worked hard for many months. On the night of the Hollywood ball, she showed up. Beautifully gowned and wearing her beautiful shoes. And suddenly the door was opened and she walked right in.

And there she stood with all the Slinderellas -- a princess as true as any. And she knew that she would be able to attend the ball again and again, because she now knew the secret -- that the way to get any door to open is to first believe in yourself.

And she lived happily ever after.

She did incorporate more lettuce and less fried chicken into her diet, because she was smart and understood that overweight African Americans are at increased risk for diabetes, heart disease, cancer...
 

Sign up for our Weekly Email Newsletter Email: For Email Marketing you can trust

Other Ways to Share Twitter Del.icio.us MySpace

Discussions and Submission Agreement