Monday, May 28, 2012

Dare to be Different

I started thinking the other day about how funny life is. You spend your whole adolescence trying to blend in. Trying to look like everyone else, and trying to not stand out. And then a switch flips and if you are me suddenly you don't want to blend in anymore.

I got a hair cut on Monday. I'm really really trying to grow it out, but it needed a trim. I got it cut at school (yay for school!) and my teacher asked me to straighten it. She used me as a demo in front of other students. As she was cutting on my hair, she commented on how pretty it is straight. She even said I should wear it straight more often. I really like this teacher. But this rubbed me wrong. I told her that I liked my curly hair. And I do.

It only took 28 years, countless hours of grief and pain and heat and straightening systems to get me to this point. But here I am. What's funny is I don't think anyone else likes my hair better curly than straight. Not even Jimmy. He says I tricked him by dating him with straight hair, and then breaking out the curly hair afterwards. He is totally right. It was all part of my plan. Hook a guy with my straight hair and then bear the bad news that it costs $500 every six months to make my hair that way. Men who like curly hair are really far and few between. Trust me. I know. I've only encountered a handful. Too bad Jimmy, you are stuck with me now! Ha!

I'm going to even say that I think I look better with straight hair. But, God did not give me straight hair. He gave me curly hair, and I'm embracing it. Chia Head, Puff, Fro... all these names haunt me. Names I was called in my youth when I was so desperate to fit in and look like everyone else. But those days are gone. I like my curly hair because it's different. It makes me different. It makes me stand out. And I don't even have to try.

I read a magazine article a while ago. I cannot remember the magazine, but it was an interview with 4 black women. They were all talking about beauty stuff and one said that everyone always tried to get her to relax her hair. To make her hair more manageable. Well, she wouldn't do it. She said she had no reason to. If no one else liked it, who cares. It's her hair and that is how it grows out of her head.

I really liked that. We are always so busy trying to fit the mold of what we are told we should look like. Why? Who says? Big hair, small hair, big hips small hips, big thighs small thighs. Tall, short, thick, thin. They can all be beautiful in their own way.

I like my haircut. My teacher did a good job. But I like my curly hair even more. And I like that uniqueness radiates out of my head best of all.

1 comment:

Audrey Spence said...

Have you seen the documentary Chris Rock did called Good Hair? If not you should. It's pretty interesting. But it talks a lot about how African American women think "good hair" is straight like most white people. I liked it. But I like your curly hair. I think it looks better curly than straight. I always wanted curly hair so I could just scrunch it and be done with it (hence my spiral perm when I was 8!). But no, I have the awkward wavy combo so it stays in a messy bun or pony tail the majority of the time because I'm too lazy to straighten it and it takes too long to curl. But I should just be grateful that whenever I do either it actually holds. I just hate taking the time. There is no happy medium! :)

Oh and on a totally different note... you should go to Vegas sometime between Aug 24th and Sept 1st. Scott is taking off the last week of August and we're planning on going to his parent's condo in St. George. And Vegas is a lovely hour and a half away! Yahoo! So close!


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