Sterotypical

All my life I have always had long hair, in fact I think I was even born with long hair. No actually I had an Afro of naturally curly hair. A dream to any hair fanatic and a nightmare to a pre-teen girl. At a young age I really could care less about it; having my mom style my hair was the typical norm until I hit eighth grade and I realized things needed to dramatically change. You see I was definitely rocking the 80's style of poof bangs and long naturally curly hair, unfortunately this was the 90's and I was in middle school.

 Once the teasing had finally reached it's peak I began the painful process of growing out my bangs. This was something I was wishing would take a day or two, when in reality it was months and months. Once they reached a point where they were too long for my accustom style I began the clip phase. You know those sparkly butterfly clips. This was probably an even more painful time then the poofy bangs themselves. My hair was like an awkward baby deer trying to make some use of itself. Needless to say the teasing continued. However, I was determined not to give in to the growing desire to take the scissors myself and put my bangs back in their place; poofed like a fountain of glory on my head. The next big stage was the ear tuck; once you have reached this phase the finish line is in sight. Aside from gravity and the occasional gusty wind those bangs knew their place, and that was behind my ears. By the ninth grade I had accomplished one of the hardest transitions a girl or woman can experience in her fashion part of life. Bangs gone. Now to deal with the naturally curly hair. I had tried on several occasions to embrace it and help it out with a perm. After one week of my new do I was generally regretting my decision. Hair straighteners were just barely making their debut at this time and there were two kinds. Hair straightener #1- the kind that hair stylists had which cost a fortune and if not handled correctly would probably roast your hair off. Hair straightener #2- the kind that you need to use the thinnest strand of hair and go over it five times to attain a weak wave from a tight curl. Sadly to say I hd straightener #2. Not that I enjoyed it, but I would spend hours trying to get those darn curls to go straight. Hours of hard work could easily be corrupted by an increase in the humidity of the day. After years of blow drying and straightening my hair finally learned its place in life, and with the arrival of college it looked pretty good most of the time.

You know how in some cultures that they revere their hair in connection with their honor, their place in life. Not that I am from those countries, but over the years my hair began to feel as though it was my identity; what made me, me. I vowed never to chop it off and pictured myself as an old grey lady with long wavy hair.

Through the years I would see many of my friends and acquaintances that would become new moms and to my dismay chop their hair off. Again, I vowed that I would be a mother toting around a toddler and newborn with long flowing hair. Well I received a cold hard reality check on January 16th. For two months I was pulling it up in pony tails, buns, pig tails, and the well known grandma bun. These were normally hairstyles I would do for work to keep my hair out of the way. As the weeks past I finally began to see some clarity as to why new moms cut their hair.

Reason #1- for the past three weeks you have been prisoner to your own home, worn the same pajamas, and sported the same messy bun( not the cute messy bun that you actually work to get but the one that comes naturally from never taking your hair down). Three weeks of that will make any person feel...well...very unattractive. Reason #2- time has gone out the window. It is amazing how busy one tiny little baby can keep you. By the time you have him fed, changed, entertained, and down for a nap it is time to do it all over again. Reason#3- all my college and high school years the only person I needed to worry about was me. What would I wear, how would I do my hair, what fun things would I do on the weekend. Honestly, I am bored of that. I would much rather devote my time, mind, and energy to my little man. Reason #4- while some babies enjoy being tickled, having hair in their face while they are trying to eat does not count as being tickled.

So needless to say I broke my own vow. I chopped my hair; and I don't regret it. Life is about experiences, growing, and LIVING. Our identity is not in our appearance but rather in the nature and character of our souls. I'm still Teana with long hair or with short hair, but more importantly I am a mother and a wife and a daughter of God.