Naleighna Kai's Literary Cafe Magazine January 2018 New Year, New You | Page 19

underneath. I was afraid. That’s right,
I’m laying it all on the line here. I WAS
AFRAID. I worked at a law firm and could
only imagine how wearing my natural hair
would be received in a professional setting.
I would be ridiculed. I could be fired. I was
already a little militant and this might be
perceived as me asserting “something”
that they couldn’t understand. To me,
it was merely an attempt at doing what
best for hair that years of relaxers, wigs
rubbing on the edges, braids pulling out
the edges—had damaged.
And then it happened. The day that
changed my life forever. I was tired of
hiding. Tired of wondering. Tired of being
ashamed. And I did the one thing that I
did not think I would do. I was like, “To
hell with it. This is who I am and I love
me. They’re going to had to deal with it.” I
snatched off that wig like it had done me
wrong and wore my natural hair to work.
Let me tell you what I didn’t expect—I
received MORE compliments from Whites
and Blacks alike over the state of my new
hair. They LOVED it. Absolutely loved it.
Truthfully, I never considered myself as
vain. Ever. But with every compliment,
with every sister asking me about my hair,
with “natural” sisters giving me that head
nod of approval, my “personal sunshine”
meter went up a notch. So much so, that
I was beaming into the mirror, beaming
when I walked down the street, beaming
while I worked, beaming and had a little
sway and swagger in my hip movements.
When I became comfortable with my hair,
“e’rebody” (Yes, I said it that way) e’rebody
was alright with it. But it started with me.
embracing a natural style. You know,
like how some sinners do when they
find God, and suddenly forget what it
was like before they stepped through
the church doors and they were doing
all kinds of whatever? Oops, did I say
that?
Hair is a personal journey and there
is no “right” or “wrong” way when
it comes to how someone wants to
wear their hair. If you’re making that
transition, it is important to surround
yourself with people who are going to
support the effort, and not “talk you
out of it” or put down your thoughts
about making that move. Some might
even go so far as to slide a container
of “creamy crack” in front of you the
moment there’s a smidgen of doubt.
They’ll act as though you’re an addict
that can relapse.
But I’ll be honest, when I walk past a
sister with locs or an Afro, I will give
them that subtle head nod to say, “Go
on, with ya bad self,” and you can bet
your bottom dollar that I always get
one in return.
For the next issue, I would love for our
readers to showcase their transition
to natural hair and share their stories.
Email the document and the before and
after photos (one each) to lissawoodson@
aol.com.
Trust me, and this is important, I didn’t
become one of those “natural hair saints”.
By that I mean, one of those vigilant
people trying to convert everyone into
NKLC Magazine | 19