Guest Blogger: "The Adventures of the Naturally Lazy"

Greetings Naturals! Let me start off by thanking Artist Madrid for allowing me to be a guest blogger. In my mind, when I first asked if I could be a guest blogger, I somehow thought that I would inherently be able to motivate myself into living a better, healthier, and more productive lifestyle by encouraging others to do so. However, I constantly come to terms with my never-ending bouts of laziness whenever it is time for me to do something beneficial for my own well-being.  Don’t get me wrong; I am not against being a productive, healthy, and stylish member of society or anyone who is.  It’s just that I have yet to master this. And the problem is most times I’m okay with that. 

Ballin’ on a Budget – Why I Went Natural

If you haven’t already figured, in connection with my mostly idle nature, I am also cheap. In any case, one of my initial reasons for going natural was an attempt to save some money and effort involved in going to get a relaxer every so many weeks. Granted, I did have the hookup with my cousin, who has been doing my hair for years, by only having to pay $40 for a relaxer. Now…I can’t say that I’ve experienced this, but apparently paying at least $60 every six weeks for a relaxer is the norm. So as a college student who lived off of: questionable campus food, free event pizza, my congregation's mercy, and the infamous Ramen noodles (for those “no shower/ no outside world” days), the money it would take to put gas in my car and get a relaxer could have gone to a nice meal that I could eat off of for days. Priorities, people.

The main reason I went natural, however, was because of my plans to study abroad, the following fall, during my senior year. Though during the beginning of my junior year I was on the fence of whether I was going to study abroad, I had decided that just in case, I should go natural. This way, I wouldn’t have to rely on a stranger, that didn’t speak my language, putting chemicals in my hair. Returning to the states pregnant and/or bald were two of my biggest fears (both legitimate, if I do say so myself) about going overseas. So naturally the simple solutions were to forgo the shaving of my legs and to forgo my dependence on the "creamy crack." Judge me if you want, but they both worked.

“Started from the Bottom Now We Here!”

 

So, after much struggle, weird looks, inquiries of why I was going natural (aka why my head looked a semi-hot mess), and a new found addiction to Youtube, I did my big chop in April of 2011. The pictures below show my go-to transition style and my TWA that I rocked around campus.

 

From what I can remember about my transitioning process, my go-to styles were bantu knots and ill attempts to straighten my own hair with a flat iron. OH, and hats! Lots and lots of hat wearing days. Sure enough, though, I got through it all and the big chop was a monumental moment for me. I guess you could say I am not as emotionally attached to my hair – at least not to the degree as most women, I suppose. So, for me, doing the big chop was more of a relief than anything because I was merely sick of dealing with the two tortures…I mean…textures. I can’t claim to have been entirely invincible because I did wear it straight for the first two weeks after cutting it. But, my first hair washing experience proved to be quite entertaining and enlightening in the discovery of my natural coils.  I am pretty sure I was just as intrigued at the tightly curled, shrunken, afroed ringlets as my three white roommates; one of whom poked my newly washed hair and said in sheer awe, “It’s soooo curly….” Why, it is, isn’t it?

I can’t say, that after two years of being completely natural (which it will be in April, but it feels a lot longer), that I have mastered the understanding of my hair. At all. Mostly this is because of my laziness (I will proudly admit it). I don’t really have the dedication that it takes to be a “naturalista,” but I have come to the conclusion that that is okay. Looking like a presentable lady doesn’t have or need to take enormous amounts of effort or hours of daily preparation of hair, make-up, or body image. If anything, I have learned that a hearty, yet humble self-confidence level is the key to being beautiful, attractive, a sexy beast, or whatever. How many hours or minutes it takes for an individual to reach that level of healthy self-confidence differs for everyone. But once it’s really attained (with kinky, curly, wavy, or straightened hair)-It’s a beautiful thing. The hardest part is realizing that  ;-).

Until next time – if I haven’t been banned because of the obnoxiously long post – stay strong, yo!

Much obliged,

Naturally Lazy