10 Months Natural - Pride, Passion, Patience and Positivity

Hello Beautiful(s).

I can't believe it!! November has been more than good to me! I made it to 10 months! 10 months sans relaxers and weaves. It has been an incredible journey and my hair has taught me so much. We (me and my hair my hair and I) have learned so much from each other. Here are a few lessons my hair has taught me. I call these lessons my 4 P's!

#1-- PATIENCE--- Oh! how I wish somebody had told me when I went natural that I would need a jar full of patience. My hair has taught me how to cultivate patience, how to give her what she needs. How to endure her bad days without letting it affect me emotionally, how to treat her with extra care when I feel like yanking her out of my scalp, how to put her in protective styles when needed so she doesn't break...oh, the lessons are endless.

#2--POSITIVITY--- I'm just going to say this out loud and clear, Natural hair is not for the negatively minded, you can't make it past the first few months without a positive attitude. Because if you don't believe in yourself and your hair, there's no use in wanting to go the natural route. You will simply drive yourself Mad. My hair has taught me how to stay positive, through the endless hours I spent in front of the mirror learning how to bantu knot, two strand twist; through the endless youtube videos learning how to style, through the many MANY endless hair forums reading on how to care for her, my hair has taught me that having a positive mind, goes a long the way.

#3--PRIDE-- I'm going to let you in a little secret, having natural hair must come with pride in one's self. My hair has taught me how to be proud of her, no matter what everyone else says or think. You have to be proud of your hair and be brave to wear it out without shame of what others will think of you. If you lack pride and self confident, you will continuously compare your hair with other people, and doing this is like treading on a treacherous slippery slope. The minute you compare your hair with other people, your self confidence start to diminish, because you might feel like your hair is not as good as theirs, not as curly or shiny as your friend's hair, and so you begin to beat yourself up, wishing you had someone else's hair. People will even tell you how hard, tough and rough your hair looks and feel, but do not listen to them, ignore them because if you start arguing with fools you're bound to get angry and believe me, anger doesn't solve anything. Confronting people who talk trash about your hair has to be done in an educated manner, instead of talking back or cursing them out, turn the other cheek and let them say whatever they want. I always say, "kill them with kindness", because these are the same people who will one day come to you and tell you how beautiful your hair looks, how much they wish they had your hair. Lack of education about natural hair breeds ignorance and stupidity, to the point that people are afraid of their own hair, because they don't know what to do with it in its natural state. Be proud of your hair,  if it is not as curly as your friend's hair, EMBRACE IT. If it is not as soft as you would want it (deep condition, co-wash more often, moisturize, MOISTURIZE!) so that you can get it to where you want it. Whatever you do, DO NOT COMPARE your hair with other people's hair because doing this is like looking at your own child and wishing you had your neighbor's kid, not only is it wrong, it is sad and abominable. Be proud of what God gave you, embrace it, love it, wear it with pride that speaks and peaks higher than the mountains.

#4--PASSION---Do I even have to explain this one? Be passionate about your hair, so passionate that when others look at you, they wish they could have your self confidence and fierceness.

Pride, Passion, Patience and Positivity, Love your Natural Roots!

You can read more about Linda's hair journey here http://roots4lia.blogspot.com/

And watch her here...Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Roots4LiA?feature=mhee


P.S: In the meantime, don’t forget to enter for the chance to win one of our giveaway prizes in our African Naturalistas 10-Mega giveaway, if you haven’t already done that.