My Natural Hair Journey (The Disclaimer)

As you can see by the frequency of my previous blog posts, I am not one to regularly blog. However, in March of 2011 I began a journey to get to know the me behind the makeup, extensions and other facades. Though my first post that relates to this journey does not happen until a full 6 weeks into this venture, these entries are based upon personal journals and photographs that I maintained during this time. For the sake of being relate-able, I refer to these posts as part of my "natural hair journey", but I really believe that it goes much deeper than that. Many things have come into perspective during this time. I have had to face myself, my insecurities and my ideals in order to come up with a more clearly defined plan and focus for my life. One would not think that this reference has anything to do with hair, but I truly believe that as a black American woman, so much of our identity is tied to our hair. We are taught very early on the methods of assimilation to "mainstream" society. Going against that tide (that we are often times not even aware that we are swept up in) is a life changing experience. The natural hair movement is not so much about hair as it is about finding and redefining ourselves from within.