One of the things that really changed for me is how I viewed myself as a black woman when I decided to return to my natural texture. For most of my life, I had been thought not "black enough" because of my "light skin" "talking like I'm white" being "so articulate" etc.
Although my parent's provided inspiring information about our African history it wasn't shown in our day-to-day lives. The rest of that story deserves a blog of its own.
My natural hair doesn't look like, react like, or style anything like my relaxed hair. I had to step back and re-evaluate what being a black woman meant to me. I had to re-define what professional looked like for me. It was a real eye opener.
When people saw me in my business suits and TWA, their reactions were almost comical. In my preferred heel height, I'm 6'1 and I'm a woman of substance, so I tend to draw attention when I'm out and about. The first time I wore a head wrap in public, people seemed genuinely surprised that I spoke English "so well." It took a minute for me to realize that they thought I was an immigrant. Up until that moment I didn't realize that I'd added another layer of being a black woman in America to my experience.
Drawing on all of my own experiences gave me a greater appreciation and love for black people. It sparked an awakening of my consciousness that is continuing to evolve. I've become more active and vocal about our situation and also more active in community service and politics. I hope to express this more thoroughly in my vlogs because I feel that our hair is so much more than just keratin that has grown from our heads.
I came across this blog and it made me glad to see that someone outside of our community sees this truth and spoke up about it. I don't have to hate or denigrate other races in order to say with confidence that #BlackGirlsRock
Has returning to natural changed your views or your lifestyle in anyway? If so please share your story!
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