I have been wearing my hair natural for many years. MANY years. I realized from a very young age that I in no way, shape or form reflect the Western standard of beauty. It is not something I ever strove for. It was an unattainable goal, and quite frankly for me, an undesirable goal. I learned to love accept everything about me....most notably my kinky afro hair.
I have always worn my hair with pride. It was always something different. Something marvelous, and something to be envied. I was raised to buck the system, to a certain degree. My mother always told me, 'I'm not raising followers. I'm raising leaders'. I was raised to do my own thing. Create my own standard of beauty, and force other to celebrate it. For me, the nappier the better. The bigger the 'fro, the better. I LOVE AFRO TEXTURED HAIR. There is NOTHING in this world like it. NOTHING. We are blessed to be so unique in our natural state.
I will never judge someone's decision to perm up or weave their hair (except Rev. Al Sharpton...I love and respect him, but it's time to put down the TCB! ). It's another facet of our follicular diversity. But, it kills me to see sistas trying so hard to reach this standard, and killing their crowning glory in the process....Naomi Campbell, anyone? Or gals wearing these gawd-awful helmet weaves that look like a minute too long in the sun may cause spontaneous combustion.
It is so liberating just to be natural. Once you reach a level of acceptance of what God gave you, it is pretty remarkable. Of course, not for everyone, but I would venture to say, for the vast majority.
At the end of the day, if you're on the fence, just give it a go. If it's not for you, you can always go back to your creamy-licious ways.
-YB
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