Happily Nappy..... Thank You Very Much

As y’all know I am in the process of trying to go natural with my hair. I stopped relaxing my hair about 4 months ago because of all the damage and I really hated all the products and heat that was required for my hair become straight. Not to mention that after exercising in the morning I really don’t have the time or the patience to curl my hair, style my hair, spritz it down, ect. Plus I already get up at 5:30am I really don’t have it in me to get up any earlier. Also I look better with more natural hair styles, so I thought it would be best to do what works for me. Now I do not have a problem with relaxers or women who choose to relax their hair, everyone is entitled to their choice. Not to mention I have had it all: the Jheri Curl, Wave Nuevo (it still was a curl but for people who wanted to believe they had an elite curl), relaxers, weaves, braids, extensions, and wigs. So you see, I’ve tried it all, and most of they time my hair just breaks off and feels really brittle. Of course I can solve this by going to the salon every week or two and plopping down $75.00-$85.00 (that does not including a relaxer, if you want a relaxer make that $120.00, oh now you need a cut and a relaxer make that $145.00). So you see it can easily get out of hand and I simply can not allow myself to be spending massive amounts of money on something as simple as my hair. Don’t get me twisted I don’t want to walk around looking like boo-boo the fool, but I also don’t want my stylist planning on purchasing her new pair of Jimmy Choo’s at my expense. So I decided it would be best to take a sabbatical from relaxing. I can’t lie it has been a hard journey for a sistah. A few weeks back I even had to miss a day of work because my hair would not cooperate. But most days I look great and love my pretty afro puff. My hair routine is so easy, I just use 100% shea butter, a brush and a little Optimal Care moisturizer and I’m good. You would not believe how soft my hair is, I love touching it because it really feels so different. So today at work my co-worker asked me if I planned on strengthening my hair, I told her no. She then went on to tell me that her mom and brother has hair similar to mine and she is glad she did not inherit that type of hair because it is very resistant and she would not know what to do with kinky hair. In cause y’all wondering my co-worker is Mexican. I was a bit offended but not much because as a black woman I’ve dealt with these issues all my life. People please tell me what is good hair? Is long straight hair good hair? Is wavy hair good hair? What constitutes good hair and who makes the determination on whether the hair is good or not? Because to be honest with you my hair is in the best condition its ever been in in my life. So my kinky natural hair is good to me, I don’t give a damn what other people say is good. And I hate hearing people say “I got good hair”. Let me be clear here, I am not saying that I will never put another relaxer in my hair, but I do want to see how my hair grows without a relaxer. I do want a chance to experience my hair in its natural state and I do not want to be judged while doing so. If you haven’t guessed I like to challenge people and their thoughts. I do not want to be considered good or pretty because I possess qualities that people have predetermined are pretty and good. Do I look like Beyonce or have an ass like Buffie the Body, no and no again. But am I phyne, hell yeah. I am in a stage in my life that what other people thoughts does not matter, what I think of myself matters more than what others think. Black women are beautiful. We come in every color of the rainbow and our bodies come in different sizes and shapes, we are a very diverse group. Instead of celebrating our diverse looks we try to fit everyone into a mold and sometimes that mold gets very boring and tiring. I for one am tired of trying to look like mainstream America; for once I just want to look like me.