Growing up I was always a bit of an oddball. What some folks might call eccentric. But I suppose this came from me looking at the people around me and realizing that none of them were anything like me.

Growing up I was always a bit of an oddball.

What some folks might call eccentric.

But I suppose this came from me looking at the people around me and realizing that none of them were anything like me. From interests and even to looks I was always the odd girl out.

I’m an artist, environmentalist, vegetarian, flower-pickin’, incense-lightin’, dumpster-divin’, biracial girl living in a house full of huntin’, fishin’, meat-eatin’, down-home country folks right smack in the middle of Saucier(pronounced SO SURE), Mississippi… and I love every minute of it.

 

 

But that is a recent development…

I use to wish I could just look like the rest of my family. I wanted blue eyes and lighter skin. I wanted people to believe I was actually a member of my own family. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve almost cried just because the waiter asked if I needed a seperate check.

One thing is for sure. I was not proud of my black features.

…

One would think that because my mom was white she would be completely lost when it came to doing my hair… But she took fantastic care of it. Everywhere we went I would get compliments on my ‘do. Of course we had some hits and some misses(umm… crochet braids?) but I’m very greatful she took the time out to learn how to cater to my wild head of hair (i.e. put me between her legs and pop me with the comb when I moved!)

I was one stylin’ kid!

 

But all of the bliss came to a drastic halt…

All that caring and nurturing my mother had done for my hair had resulted in me having a head full of thick, long, nappy hair. Sounds great right? Well not for her. It was very hard to manage. So we turned to the relaxer- the healer of all nappy hair dilemmas.

My hair was FABULOUS! Ooh, let me tell you! It was swinging and swaying and bouncing….

But not for long.

This was about the same time that I decided I was too grown for my mom to continue doing my hair. Throughout middle school I wore my hair in a dry ponytail…

every

single

day.

Needless to say I went from long, luscious locks to shoulder length crispy hay for hair. The older I got the more I learned (mostly from my girlfriends) how to take better care of my relaxed hair. Still my hair would never grow past my shoulders again.

In high school I became very involved in my artwork. I transferred to a high school for the arts where I made great friends who were strange just like me. I began to despise anything mainstream. And since everyone perms their hair you know that had to go too.

No one really knew that I was transitioning until I cut my relaxer out one day and started sporting a fro.

But being natural has taught me a lot about myself. When I began looking for others like me and discovered Np.com, I realized that many of the women there went natural despite their family’s telling them that it was not acceptable.

And here I am with a great family who loves me for all my strange habits, and phases, and opinions and protests so why can’t I appreciate my own beauty? Not just my hair but my wide nose, big lips, curvy figure…

It’s funny how a simple haircut can change one’s way of thinking. I didn’t like my black features because they set me apart from the one’s I wanted to fit in with the most, but my obsession with being different from everyone else led me to love them more.

Peace

-Rica