This week, I faced another interesting Communications assignment. Frequently, when doing coursework, we are asked to introduce ourselves in various ways- cross-culturally, through graphic design, in a journalistic piece, in public relations, etc. So, I did my homework and did it excellently, as is my M.O. A few hours later, I found myself singing the songs of Easter Sunday 2014: namely, this
And a hymn we sang at my church before Holy Communion that Sunday: "Jesus lives again, Earth can breathe again, pass the word around, loaves abound!" And in singing these songs again, and thinking about how God continues to write my life story in the midst of struggle, I began to have this thought: My name is Krystle, and I am a woman of Easter. When I was a kid, people called me stupid- but I rose above it. I was abused in every way imaginable at home, but I kept going anyway. The church world told me that I was not spiritually mature enough to be one of them, but I kept going. Someone told me I was too lazy to ever survive in the real world, but I'm working hard today. People I love walked out on me, but I just learn to love harder. People said I was selfish, but I just keep giving anyway. No matter what life throws at me, with God's help I smile and persevere anyway. My name is Krystle, and I am a woman of Easter.
Let me start by saying this: I have not seen Chris Rock's Documentary "Good Hair"- but I really, really want to. So, if you want to loan it to me or buy it for me as a gift, be my guest! All of my life, my hair has been a struggle to deal with. From the time I was maybe 5 or 6, my mom made sure to chemically relax it every 8 weeks. When she didn't relax it, it was too difficult to deal with, which led to some things like being burned (intentionally) with a flat iron and a few instances of having my head rammed into a wall. (I'm not mad, she was just frustrated). I also had a lot of hair extensions in my growing up years. I have had braids, human hair....all of which needed to be treated by hot oils, braid sprays, etc. When a weave went bad when I was about 11 or 12, some idiot cousin decided to chop ALL my damn hair off!!! As soon as I was old enough to make my own decisions, I stopped wearing any kind of hair extensions. There is the animal cruelty element and the fact that all that crap is WAY too difficult to keep up with. About a year ago, I stopped chemically relaxing my hair. That's right, I got away from the creamy crack (slang for chemical relaxer). I have also been gradually chopping away my relaxed hair and keeping it in cornrows as it grows and takes on it's natural, kinky form. And you know what? I have never been happier. I love my hair now. It's soft and fluffy. I can do more with it in its natural state. I can rock an afro one day and braids the next and a two strand twist the day after that. I can go swimming without worrying about permanent damage because of the clash of the chemicals. I don't have to spend money I don't have sitting in a stylist's chair every few weeks. I can stay away from wigs and weaves because I am happy with my hair in its natural state. And, there is more to it than what I can do with my hair. Since going natural, and rocking my own fro (which can be seen in my Facebook profile picture), I have felt a self esteem boost that I wouldn't give away for the world. I am happier with my looks. I don't worry so much about whether or not my hair is pleasing to people around me- I am more focused on how I want my own hair to look. Since wearing my hair natural, I am discovering more and more that I love how God made me- and that I am more willing to share myself with other people. Plus, a lot of the chemicals in relaxers are super toxic. I don't want to give myself cancer or anything equally deadly just because I want to have "good hair." I don't want to burn my hair out with a flat iron every week (I'm considering giving that thing away!) I don't want to do anything to make my nice, fluffy, kinky mop on the top of my head go away. So, to my friends and family who still do the relaxers and weaves, I would recommend going natural. It's certainly working out well for me (actually, my hair is growing at a faster rate now than when I was using relaxer). But, if that's not your choice, know that God made you beautiful no matter how you choose to rock your hair.
