Why Natural?

So..why did I decide to stop relaxing and wear my hair natural? This is a common question I hear from many people so here goes. I cut off all my relaxed hair in 2000, the day after I graduated from high school. It was a thought I had for a while but I admit I was afraid to follow through. That sounds silly now but looking back on it I can understand the fears I had. Nobody in my family wore their hair in its natural state so I had no one to look up to in that respect. My grandmother, who lived in TN at the time, was less than pleased that her granddaughter with the long straight hair would soon be her granddaughter with the short nappy hair. The day I came home from getting it cut off she literally gasped and said "Oh but you used to look so pretty (with a frown on her face)." Encouraging, I know. I guess the real reason I decided to was that I realized one day that I did not know what my own natural hair even looked like. And I thought that was sad. Every few weeks in-between relaxers I would slip my fingers in my hair and feel the roots for the little wrinkles that would inevitably appear. Normally, this would signal that it was time to relax again but something happened my junior year. I began to wonder what it would look like if my whole head was covered in these little wrinkly waves. Prom was coming up in a few weeks and I had to decide how I was going to wear my hair. Needless to say, I was due for a relaxer and up until that point had every intention to get one. But, I decided to go with an updo and skip the relaxer. I can't say I was 100% committed to going natural at this point but I knew it was a step in the right direction. As the months passed and my hair grew I began to take notice of how puffy the roots got, how weird my hair looked with the two textures. I transitioned by hot combing my roots once a week. Of course, I know now how damaging this was but at the time it was the only option I saw. I wore my hair like this the rest of that spring. That summer, I went to Mexico with a girl who I had befriended while she was here learning English. I stayed with her family for a month and it was one of the best times of my life! I wore my hair pulled back in a bun everyday. It was so hot and humid my straightening routine was not going to cut it. I actually tried to straighten it once while I was there and by the end of the day I looked like a crazy fuzz ball! Needless to say, I went back to the bun. My senior year was pretty uneventful, hairwise. I straightened once a week and my hair continued to grow. For senior pictures I got a roller set which came out nicely and pleased my mom and grandma. Finally graduation day came and I wore my hair long and straight, curled under on the ends. My mom had a graduation party for me and my grandparents had come from Tennessee to celebrate with us. The next day was the moment I had been waiting for. I went to a random beauty shop and asked the lady to cut off the relaxed ends. I think I had about 5 or 6 inches of new growth by then. She looked at me like I was crazy but did what I asked. I had brought my best friend with me, she was a photographer and she took pictures for me. I watched as pieces of dead relaxed hair fell on my shoulders and my lap. Finally, when she was done,the lady spun me around. I can't say I exactly liked what I saw, it was a shock! But, I felt free. I felt like I had accomplished something big and I couldn't wait to show it off. The beautician asked me what I wanted her to do next. Hell, I didn't know! I said, "Oh, put some gel in it" and she did. And that was that. I had a cute little curly boxy fro! I did not bother to inspect the job she had done, if I had I would have noticed she left many spiky relaxed ends that made me look like I had gotten a bad texturizer or something. But I was so glad to be relaxer free. Meeting my new hair was like making a new friend. Over the next weeks and months it was all trial and error as we got to know one another. My aunt decided to go natural right around the time I did but she locked her hair. She told me about a lady that did natural hair in her home and I decided to go. I got my first set of two strand twists and I loved them. I loved my natural but did not know what I was doing. As it got longer and I got bored I started flat ironing it. :( I know BAD! I was using too much heat and I permanently straightened the front. So, a year and a half ago I decided to cut it all off and start over. That's right, 7 years down the tubes! Oh well, I learned a heck of a lot and now I have much of it back, healthier of course. I will NOT be straightening my hair anytime soon and my focus is on growth and health. So, you're all up to speed on how I got to this point with my hair. Later I will post about what products I use and how I take care of my hair, and some of the politics about natural hair. I will post some pictures too when I can get them all in one place. I hope you enjoyed reading my journey and hopefully it will inspire others to take the plunge and go natural too!