What up yallll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,

Thank God it is Friday.. We have survived another work, school or whatever type of week you had by the grace of God.. So turn up and thank him..

Not sure what kind of week you all have had but mine was good. Nothing bad happened and I made it to school on time each day lol! We all know for college students, that can a difficult task.. And another thing that is funny is that my 8 am class that was full on the first day is now down to about half.(when they noticed she doesn’t take attendance.) But she makes us write these discussions that count as participation points.. so i guess that is her way of keeping attendance.. So if your late.. I guess your kind of screwed to. Haha

Anywho…

So I came across this video on you tube. It was basically a video about African American women creating a natural hair exhibit (using their own hair) for people to touch their hair. Now some people were outraged and others were more accepting of the video. Because for some strange reason people want to touch our hair (African American). Now that natural hair is trending.. and many different women are wearing different textures of hair that people are not use to seeing, they want to touch it for some strange reason.

http://youtu.be/AbDgxJNIAVM

How does this relate to me in the military? You ask! Well good question. 

Now as you know with any diverse group you join, there is an even level of ignorance among all races. Why? Well depending on where you are from is what you get!

You may work with some white people who lived in areas that are not predominately mixed.. Meaning there is no diversity in their town and to see anyone other than white is foreign to them.

This does not necessarily make them racist but it does give them a high level of ignorance due to their lack of interaction with other races. Now that doesn’t only apply to white people it can apply to anyone that is in the same situation.

When I was young, I think our town had a pretty even mixture of different races and the Asians and Hispanics were the minority lol.. However, my town was pretty country so you would see all races in tall boots and camouflage gear lol.. Except me that wasn’t my thing.

I say all that to say.. Yall remember last week when I was talking about how I had just removed my braids and now I am wearing my natural hair. Well it totally slipped my mind that my hair was braided before we started school. So when those that I don’t normally associate or didn’t see for the entire summer saw my hair.. They were shocked. 

For some reason! Every command I go to there is always one white girl… (Because the guys just say nice hair and keep it moving!) That always ask.. Is that your hair? Can I touch it? Are you wearing a weave? 

Here is my problem with that.. Number one.. We are not friends and this is supposed to be a professional environment. I shouldn’t feel pointed out because you are fascinated with my hair! I always ask why they want to touch my hair and they always say because it looks different or it looks nice. 

Have they ever stopped to consider the following:

1. Our hair is greasy from all the oils and regiments that we have looked up on you tube and Pinterest to try to make our hair soft and shiny

2. I don’t know where your hands have been and you probably have Ebola (lol)

3. What if my hair falls out from you touching it? Are you going to buy me some implants!

4. Lastly. It is unprofessional!

If we are friends and you asked to touch my hair outside of a working environment for whatever reason than I would feel better about it because I don’t feel like I’m on display in front of everyone. (Especially if I say no..don’t want to be the angry black woman)

>>>>>>>>>>Ok side note!

Why everywhere you work.. (only apply this statement if applicable lol) and there is more than one black woman.. One has to be the angry black woman.. And your are out of luck if you’re the only black woman because you are automatically it.. Haha, They associate you as being angry because you are actually focusing on your job and not being a social butterfly..

>>>>>>>>>>>>Leaves soapbox! 

I am just saying there is nothing that fascination about my hair or any other woman’s hair that someone should want to touch it. I’m trying to grow it not sew it lol..

Hope yall enjoyed my blog.. Have a blessed weekend!

Peace!

Hey Yall,

So this week I took my braids and I felt like my hair hasn’t grown lol…

I looked at the pictures from when I cut my hair back in July and now and it looks the same. I was wondering why it hasnt grown but an outside source a.k.a one of my friends told me that my hair looks like it has grown. She said that she could see the difference between the roots and color of my hair. You can see that its starting to be mostly black and not the color.. I cant tell.. But hey, thats just me. Look at my before and after pics and you decide for yourself.. Lol.

BEFORE

AFTER

Side note… Boy the wonders that makeup does for a face.. Now I didnt wake up like this (as Beyonce has these women lying to themselves in the morning.. lol) but i do feel flawless lol.

Any who back to the subject at hand..

Since my hair hasnt grown that much, I was wondering what I should do with my hair because I don’t necessarily want to get braids right now (because it takes a long time to do lol).

Below is a photo from Naturally curly.com…If only it was so easy to achieve a style that looks like this. Ideally, this is ho I would want to wear my hair (but as you can see from the photos above, I have yet to achieve this look..lol) I have watched many youtube tutorials and I have yet to master the wash and go for the little hair I do have.. Haha.

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curly-hairstyles-pictures/view/twa-6356/

As you read in my previous post, the military has many different guideline when it comes to hair. It makes it difficult to express who you are as a person in regards to your hair and your personal style. Not to say I am a stylish person lol.. But I do like to dibble and dabble with different looks from time to time and spice up my look! Take the picture below for example, when i am on leave I do things that are completely not authorized. This hairstyle would completely be considered to be eccentric. Why? Well because it doesn’t look like the other styles that they have prescribed us to conform to such as hair above the collar or a tight bun.. Its eccentric because it looks faddish! Who knew wearing a mohawk would be a fad! I would say it would be more so of a trend if they allowed it (well within reason). Because we all know when you give people an inch they want to take a mile. If they would allow this style within reason.. people would take it to the extreme by putting color there or wearing it tall and spiky. Making this style not tasteful.

Below is another style I had. I was not on leave I just felt the color and the style complemented me. But i guess I was wrong lol. People were like is that hair orange! You know that is not authorized. Why would you get that? Like I said in my previous post, they write in the regulations that the color has to complement your complexion. Well what I see and what others see can be completely different. When the rules are so vague who is right and who is wrong!

My point is.. That sometimes it sucks to be apart of an organization. Why does it suck because conformity sucks. You somehow lose who you are along the way and every time you open your mouth something military related comes out and its almost like you become a robot.. In someways that can be good. But people fail to realize that life outside the military is just that YOU ARE OUTSIDE OF THE MILITARY lol meaning once uncle Sam is done with you, all you have left is what it WAS like when you were in the military and you have a hard time conforming to the outside world because anyone that is not like us disgusts us lmbo.

THIS IS WHY!

I pride myself on being a commercial Marine. Now I can walk and talk like the rest of them.. Hell I maybe even better than some of them but I do make it a point to try to be myself. It starts with the hair on down. That is a little piece of me that can ground me and make me feel normal like the rest of the women in the world that wake up and have the epiphany that they to want to be a red head lol!

Have a blessed week!

Hey y’all,

So it’s Saturday night and guess where I am! HOME.. The weather is getting chilly and I have no desire to go outside. I decided to start watching that new show on ABC how to get away with murder (HTGAWM). I must say that it is very unique and intriguing lol..

It gave me my inspiration for my blog this week. There were many women on the show wearing different types of styles. There is one in particular that I am dying to wear but because of my active duty status.. I am limited. The picture below is from one of the cast members from HTGAWM.

http://sharetv.com/person/aja_naomi_king

I love her hair. Although it may be simple, when you come from a culture of your hair having to be either short or in a bun.. This can be a style to die for!

Now every branch of service has their own set of regulations when it comes to hair. I feel the Marines have a very strict guide line and it can be very vague For example, when it comes to coloring your hair it says

>Ch 5 (c) Hair Color. If applied, dyes, tints, bleaches and frosting’s, which result in natural colors, are authorized. The hair color must complement the person’s complexion tone. Color changes that detract from a professional image are prohibited.

http://www.marines.mil/Portals/59/Publications/MCO%20P1020.34G%20W%20CH%201-5.pdf

I am of brown skin complexion and you see all these dark skin to light skin women wearing blonde hair. In my own personal opinion I just feel that women color shouldn’t wear blonde because it is not our natural hair color, unless you are mixed or something… but even then it’s not natural.

But where the complexity comes in is how to determine whether this color will or will not complement ones skin tone.

http://misspetaluma.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/miss-petaluma-on-9/rf247668/

This woman looks very nice with her blonde dreads, but and however for the type of job that I am in. This color would be considered eccentric (not only the color but the dreadlocks as well because they are not authorized in the Marine Corps.) because it doesn’t look natural especially around the roots.

But to be honest, the main reason is because she is brown skinned wearing blonde hair and it makes it harder to justify that bleach blonde hair complements her skin tone.

**** On another not to talk about the race issue with hair among women! When I was in boot camp, a white girl asked why we were allowed to dye our hair but white women were not allowed to wear braids. It was just funny that she felt that way about the subject because the white people from where I grew up at, wasn’t the least bit concerned about getting braids.

I learned real quickly that people don’t like controlled environments and if it looks like one is getting more or different treatment than the other, then that’s where the ignorant questions begin.

Any who

I feel that being a woman in the military kind of makes you lose a piece of you identity and individuality. Before you even get a glimpse of all the rules and regulations that are about to be placed upon you, you sign your life away to uncle Sam because the recruiter talks a good game about all the perks you would receive for joining the military.

Now don’t get me wrong, these past 8 years for me have been a roller coaster but I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world. I just wish I could have a little piece of the old me back. I like to wear long hair. Sometimes I would add color to it to make it pop!

To try to do that now in the environment I work in would be 1. Unauthorized and 2. A waste of time. I feel that I shouldn’t invest in hair that I am going to have to constantly wear in a ponytail or bun every day (well at least 5-7 days a week) or the quality and style of the hair is ruined because I am always sweating from working out.

Sometimes when I go on leave, I wear hair that I am not supposed to. It’s a way for me to feel normal and not a part of an organization whether it’s for a week or two! That short amount of freedom does something for your sanity. When men go on leave, they usually grow a beard because that’s their way of feeling normal.

I wish there was a way that we could be ourselves while at the same time appeasing the masses! Our hair shouldn’t have anything to do with the quality and output of our work!

Grade me based off my work performance and not the color of my hair!

Hey all,

Just checking in on yall… Hope your week has been as blessed as mine!

So what has been going on this week? Let me tell you whats new for me, well not really new, but something that has caught my attention!!!

So if you guys haven’t noticed already.. I am natural. I cut my hair back in June of this year and I loved it at first but then I decided to get braids. Blah… Blah… Blah… Lol. Refer to my previous blogs if you are interested in hearing that same ol blob story hahahaha.. (when you love yourself you can joke on yourself and your work…Im an artist and i’m sensitive about my ish.. lol.. JK)

Any who, back on the matter at hand. So I cut my hair.. well all of the relaxed hair anyway. For someone that is new to this #teamnatural business like me, I was expecting way to much out of this kinky hair.

When I got my braids, I was expecting them to last for about  2 1/2 months like they usually do! I am one of those people who cares strongly about the appearance of her braids.. I usually talk trash about other people who have nappy braids or hair! lol… So today.. I looked at my braids in the mirror. I said to myself.. You have only had these for about a month.. Why do they look like this! (check the picture below)..

Usually when my hair is relaxed.. My braids look neat for a long time.. Heck I usually dont suffer any causalities lol (lose a braid) while I wear my braids for an extended period of time. These braids, however, seem to be different. I am not sure if it is because my hair is shorter or what. I mean it could be a strong possibility that is why they are like this. Its just weird because I cannot tell if the hair out of the braid is new growth (new hair that is grown over time) or just the braids sliding.

Question that I would like to ask.. Has anyone ever washed their braids while having natural hair?

I am still in the process of researching that.. I have never tried it. I am afraid that it will make my hair kinky and tangled. Or in other words turn my braids into dreadlocks..

So now I have a decision to make.. Either I keep the braids I have (well the ones that are left lol) or take them out and get new ones. Keep in mind that the cost of the braids can range anywhere from $ 175 to $ 250! That’s expensive. That is my number one reason for keeping them in that long lol! Other than the fact that I don’t want to sit stationary for eight hours and forced to talk to the beautician about her man problems!

Intermittent note!

Does anyone else feel the same way? I mean its already bad enough that we have to sit in the salon for hours to get our hair done, but to add on top of the time that we have to wait, the beautician feels the need to lay her burdens on my shoulders! I mean sheesh! I only want to get my hair done and not relive days of our lives (with an update) every two to three months that I come here.. Now I know what your thinking.. Why dont you just tell her to be quiet? Well do you tell the cook at burger king to hurry up? No its just something you think in your mind because you dont want to sacrifice the integrity of your food.. By getting a little special sauce added to your burger because of your impatience ( hence that special tartar sauce on the fish sandwich at McDonalds.. Click this link to read if you haven’t heard about it lol! http://www.allsingaporestuff.com/article/health-department-confirmed-semen-found-mcdonald%E2%80%99s-mayonnaise) I mean really, your better off preparing your own meals lol… Cant trust nobody these days!

That was wayyyyyyyyyyyy off topic, but the reason why I dont tell her to be quiet is 1. I dont want to slow her process down and 2. I want quality service.. So if sitting there talking with her is what is going to get the job done, then I guess I will just have to suffer in silence. Hahaha..

So that is my mixed thought for the week.. TO keep or NOT TO keep the braids I have now. I forgot to mention the man hours it takes to remove these bad boys! Like 4-5 hours! That’s time from my life that I will never get back..

Anyway.. Enough of my rambling! Have a blessed week yall.