I felt compelled to write today's post after a few conversations I have had recently regarding my hair. One of the joys of having natural hair is the somewhat instant bond you have when you meet other naturalistas. It's almost a sisterhood. I can be out doing grocery shopping, see another naturalista, ask her about her natural hair journey and end up engaged in this beautiful conversation. The common question I have been asked a lot lately is how long I have been natural. This is where it gets interesting...
How long I have been natural is an easy question. In fact, it's one of the common conversation starters among naturalistas. I'm not altogether sure what happened this week, but I have been asked this question three times in the course of five days. Not a problem. What was surprising to me is the reaction to my answer. My answer always goes like this, "Over three years. I prefer to keep it short."
Did you notice the, "I prefer to keep it short"? When did I start explaining my hair decisions? I began tacking this on the end of my response because people sometimes give me a bewildered look when I say three years. They give me that look because they don't understand why I have been natural over three years yet have short hair. Everyone's natural hair goal is not long hair. In fact, I personally have no natural hair goal at the moment. I just want my hair to be fly at all times. Maybe that is a goal, but I digress...
I even had a funny response just this past weekend while having dinner. I was telling the waitress how much I loved her natural curls. She then asked me how long I'd been natural and I'm not sure if she didn't understand me or was confused. Her response after my typical response was, "Oh, don't worry. It gets better!" Huh? Then a conversation I had with a young lady yesterday at a store was interesting too. She assumed I had just gone natural because my hair was short.
All natural hair is beautiful. We all have different goals. Now don't get me wrong. My goal when I went natural in 2011 was to have long hair again. I just happened to discover last year that I prefer shorter hair for myself. Some of us were forced to go natural for medical reasons, some wanted to go with what they thought was a trend, some have had horrible relaxer experiences, etc. Not everyone's goal will be the same as your's and that's okay. That's what makes us unique.
What are your current hair goals? Have you ever had a strange conversation regarding your hair?
God bless & stay fabellis,
