Transformation Tuesday!!!

Hey y'all!

So I was scrolling through my phone the other day looking through my photos and I came across some that I took last October while I was still in school. When I first looked at them, I didn't realize that I had taken them almost a full year ago! I have deleted so many photos off of my phone in the past 2 years to make room for apps, music, updates, etc., so the timeline of my photos is not very lengthy because there are many gaps in the time. So when I came across these photos I took last October, it didn't occur to me how old the photos were until I looked at the date they were taken on. Looking at the photo, I could tell that my hair had definitely grown, but it wasn't too obvious to me how much it had really grown. I spend my days on Pinterest and YouTube looking at photos and tutorials from women who have crazy long hair! So my impression of my hair is that it's short, mainly because the length of my hair doesn't even come close to some of the naturals I have seen! So when I saw my photos in my phone, I wasn't floored because I didn't think my hair had gotten too much longer than that, but I knew it had obviously grown. 

This time last year, my hair was short because I had just done my big chop only 6 months prior. Even now, my view of my current hair length is that its still pretty short. However, I decided to test out just how much my hair has grown my doing a compare and contrast photo. I remembered I had done a twist-out to achieve the style in the picture from last October, and, lucky me, I just did a twist-out the week before last and took photos! So I put the two pictures side-by-side and I was amazed! The amount of growth I saw in my own hair was crazy! My jaw literally dropped and I was over the moon!

October 23, 2013 - September 20, 2014

The reason I decided to post about this is because I needed to share my realizations. Through this moment I had, I realized a couple of important things:

1.) You should always take photos of your hair and your journey! This is the only way you will be able to go back and see just how far you have come on your natural hair journey. You don't have to post them to social media! They can be, and should be, strictly for you! In times of discouragement where you feel like you're done with your hair and you don't want to bother with it anymore, or the shrinkage is getting to you and you feel like your hair just isn't growing, it's great to have those photos as motivation so that you can see just how far you and your hair have really come!

2.) Don't get wrapped up in hair types, fellow curly girls, or naturalistas. Your hair is BEAUTIFUL! I know it's easy to get on YouTube and see women with long natural hair and then wish your hair looked like theirs or wish you could skip this awkward hair length phase you're in! However, I came to the realization a little while after I did my big chop that being natural is for me! It's about embracing all of who I am and who God created me to be! It isn't about having a title or being part of an exclusive group. It's about being confident and it's about owning ALL of who you are! Watching tutorials is great because they help me to see just how diverse my hair is and can be and it shows me that I have options! It's also the Best Buy for products! I get to see how products work and learn about them without having to spend the money, which is great! But it is important to remember that while it is okay to admire the beauty of another natural's hair, that admiration should never result in you feeling less about yourself or your hair! I admit to having had felt this way before, but I am at a point now where I can appreciate the beauty of another woman, but still walk in confidence with who I am and know that I am beautiful. And to me, that's what truly makes a woman beautiful. Being able to be modest and appreciate the beauty we all have without having an attitude about it, and still know that we ourselves are a divine creation as well.

So, that was the real point of me writing this Transformation Tuesday post. I wanted to inspire you to love your hair! I wanted to share my latest experience and let you know how dangerous it is to lose sight of your own beauty. I was so wrapped up in wanting hair like the naturals I see on Pinterest and YouTube, that I couldn't even see the growth and beauty that was taking place within me and my own life and with my hair. It's so important that we love our hair and that we love ourselves! We need to focus on who we are and on our own personal growth and be proud of that! That's what being natural is really all about anyway! :)