DALLAS — If you’re a parent of a young child who struggles with confidence, 9-year-old Jaksyn Brown may inspire you. As part of the WFAA Original series "Rooted", Brown is showing youth the importance of embracing their authenticity.
“My favorite subject is science,” Brown said. “I’ve always loved science, and I actually have lots of science books.”
They say with age comes wisdom, but this young woman is defying that very thought.
”I played a little bit of roadblocks, and then I started coloring in my coloring book with my new crayons that I bought with my own money,” Brown added.
Wise beyond her years. For a moment, forget everything you thought you know about a 9-year-old.
“Well, I always struggled with confidence when I was younger, and I just wanted to make girls feel confident” Brown said, when the author was asked about her new book, ‘Celebrate Your Crown’.
A young girl, now self-assured, but something she admits she struggled with in the past.
“There’s only four girls in my class and I wanted to look like them,” Brown said. “Everybody in my class had straight hair.”
She says, hers was “curly, it was always curly.”
While struggling to embrace her curly afro early on, Brown is now on a mission to empower young girls to celebrate their crown. Her new “hairfirmation” coloring books have motivating, hair affirming statements and images that represent girls with textured and curly hair.
“There’s 30 “hairfirmations” in my coloring book,” said Brown.
She believes reciting positive affirmations about your natural hair can serve as daily reminders to embrace your authentic self.
In a book all about confidence, Brown wants everyone to know their hair is special.
“It’s not just hair, it’s very important and people with my kind of hair just think it's hair, but it’s actually a story of African culture,” she said.
Brown’s mom Amber says the 9-year-old has always been dedicated to her community, often using her wisdom and confidence to transform the lives of others.
“They need to know that they are beautiful just the way God made them, and they should be proud of that,” said Brown.
If you’d like more information about Brown’s book and how she’s building confidence in young people all across country, you can find it on her website here.