More Change: I'm on a Roll (or, I Am Not My Hair)

Making the decision to accept the placement offer in India wasn't the only decision I made on Wednesday*.

I also decided, really in the matter of a few hours, to cut my hair short and perm it.

That might not sound like a big deal but believe me people, it is. Especially for someone like me who takes forEVER to make a decision. Who likes to think everything over (like I explained here) to make the decision to do it and then go through with it all within about 2 hours was MAJOR.

Basically, for the past TEN YEARS I've had natural hair. Long before it became "cool" to go natural**. (See footnotes at the end of this post.) Basically, there's a HUGE trend of going natural. It can be quite a heated topic/debate - natural vs relaxed. It's actually quite silly to me but, whatever. Anywho, because I flat iron my hair about 80% of the time. And my hair stylist is going back to Miami indefinitely on Saturday. And I've wanted to cut my hair into a short style forEVER*** And, in the words of India Arie, I am not my hair. And.........I just needed a change. So I decided to just go for it. (It's funny, when I quickly called my sister to tell her what I was thinking of doing she said something along the lines of..."You want a change, eh? And that's something you control - your hair. Is that why you're doing it?" I hadn't thought of it like that. Like my hair being something, at a time when it seems like so many other decisions are out of my control, that I can control. My sister is one smart cookie. Call her Mrs. Dr. Phil lol.)

Anyways, let me tell you - change & reinvention is good people :)

I really hate taking photos of myself so these will have to do lol. I still can't believe I'm posting them but - whatevs. I'm makeup free so be nice;) My hair is basically unstyled here and I still love it.

Readers...friends...let me say, for the record, I absolutely love it and am happy with my decision to not only cut it but to also return to the "creamy crack" (as hair perms/relaxers are sometimes referred to lol). I was somewhat nervous that the style wouldn't fit my face (cause of my round cheeks) but surprisingly I think it does. I left the top longer so I have options and can do different things. I'm already thinking I might go shorter in the back and on the sides...

For me, this cut and decision was....freeing. I feel spunkier. And lighter. And...just good.

So yeah, change is good people.

Embrace change :)

What decision or change have YOU made, big or small, lately?

& how do you feel about it?

(ladies if you're thinking of making a change to your appearance, especially your hair and are hesitant PLEASE just listen to this. Doesn't matter if you're black, white, yellow, brown...)

Footnotes :)
*I'm still waiting on final confirmation of my offer. I'll definitely let you all know the outcome. Thank you SO MUCH for ALL of your comments, words of congrats, and just...your enthusiasm on my previous post. Seriously, you don't know how much it touched me to read them all. You all are simply amazing.


**Quick lesson for those of you unfamiliar with African-American hair -  this paragraphs is for you :) Making the decision to perm my hair was MAJOR. Basically, when a black person says they perm (or relax) their hair that means they chemically straighten it. A black persons hair is not naturally straight. It has a natural curl (or kinks whatever you call them). Like an afro texture (depending on the hair type it can be really tight curls or losse curls). Here are some examples of natural hair one, two, three. In order to straighten natural hair you have some options. You can blow dry and flat iron it OR you can perm it. If you blow dry and flat iron - which is what I've been doing for years it's only straight temporarily. Any moisture on natural hair that has been flat ironed straight will revert back to it's natural curl pattern when it gets wet...or if you go the gym and sweat a lot, or if it's humid outside...So, I could flat iron my hair to wear it straight but if it got too humid or rained - it'd get poufy and go back to it's natural curl. On the other hand, if you decide to perm your hair you are chemically straightening it. So humidity, water, sweat...doesn't matter -it'll still be straight. So that's the difference. There's a huge movement of people going back to natural hair and there's pros and cons to both. That's a whole other post and if anyone is interested leave a comment and I'll do another post on the topic! Black hair can be quite complex for those who don't know about it. Lolol. End lesson :)

***Now I will say that last summer I got a similar cut...perhaps not quite as short in the back and sides...and I did like it then. But because my hair was natural when I got the cut - it was harder to maintain. Sure, when it was styled it looked good. But if I went outside and it was too hot it didn't last right for too long, it just poufed up and the shape...the style didn't look like I knew it could. I had to be really careful about getting it wet because I didn't want it to 'fro up. In the end, I knew this cut would work better for me if I permed my hair. I don't have that problem now. It lays flat where I want it to and still has body because my hair is SUPER thick. I can run my WET hands through my hair and not have to worry lol. Yes, that sounds like a small thing but it's something I'm still getting used to.