Source: weheartit.com via Jodi on Pinterest
When I listen to this song I feel strong, gutsy and bold. For all the times someone was mean to me, overlooked me, looked down on me, this song says stand up, be proud, and don’t let the haters get you down.
I also love her voice, her style, her natural hair, and that she’s a proud and unapologetic big girl!
You go girl!
Why have ugly, fake straight hair when I can have beautiful, natural curly hair?
Cute little African American Hispanic girl with curly hair blowing (Photo credit: mikebaird)
It may sound like I’m bragging but it’s taken me a long time to fully embrace the beauty of my hair. So many years of wanting straight hair. God made it curly, so let it be.
When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
And when the broken-hearted people living in the world agree
There will be an answer, let it be
For though they may be parted, there is still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
And when the night is cloudy there is still a light that shines on me
Shine until tomorrow, let it be
I wake up to the sound of music, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be
There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be! 🙂
Image via Wikipedia
Picture by Paul Keller
I don’t know about you, but hair disasters are part of my history. Just last weekend I had one. I bought a hood dryer thinking I could save a little money and “do it myself.” I also bought jumbo magnetic rollers, setting gel, and metal clips to hold the rollers on. I started the whole process at about 5 pm on Sunday. First I washed and conditioned my hair. Then I rolled it up on the jumbo rollers. It was hard to keep them rolled tight so a few were hanging loosely. Next I had to get my big head with those jumbo rollers under the dryer cap. The rollers, and my head, took up so much space that there was hardly any room for the cap to blow up with hot air. Nevertheless, I sat down in the basement on a chair and proceeded to watch a movie with headphones on (those dryers are loud). I have many memories, not fond, of sitting under the dryer. I think I spent about 3/5 of my childhood doing such. Luckily my basement is like Alaska – freezing cold. Therefore the hot dryer wasn’t too bad. Except for the hot air around my face of course. The things we do in pursuit of beauty and vanity. I stayed under the dryer for 2 hours. Once I took off the cap, I could tell that some of my hair was not all the way dry. So I got out a regular blow dryer and started blow-drying the still rolled hair. After about 15 minutes of that, I took the rollers out only to find that many of them were still damp. Translation: if my hair wasn’t dry, it was just going to curl up and frizz out as it always does. Meaning, my two plus hours were a grand waste of time. I proceeded to braid and twist it up hoping that would tame it some. Right before I went to bed I took it out of the braids and brushed it. At that moment, my husband walked into the bathroom and said, “Hey Gilda.” A reference to Gilda Radner. So you do the math. Obviously, my hair was a big frizzy mass. Check out Gild’s hair here. Actually my hair looks a lot like her hair. Anyway, I am making an appointment to go to the salon. Some things are better left to professionals!
Picture by Victor Bezrukov
Today it is one-third straight, one-third frizzy, and one-third wavy/curly. After many years of leaving it alone, I’ve decided to actually do a little something to it. On Saturday I sat in the chair of a salon for the first time in about 10 years. My hair has been living a very sheltered life indeed. Wash and wear.
My hair was born in ’63. It was pretty straight with a mild curl at first. By the time I was six months old I had a full head of curly dark brown hair. Because my mother was obsessed with my hair being straight, at some age, probably 5 or so, I was taken into the beauty parlor to get my hair done. I remember sitting on phone books and sitting under the dryer for hours.
From 5-10 I wore braids and ponytails. I was active and swam in the summers because we had a pool so my mother kind of let it go. 10 -20 was a different story. At 13 I got it cut short. That was miserable. Think curly afro in junior high when none of my friends had one. I tried pressing it and tried a perm. Once the beautician forgot to put neutralizer on it and my scalp was badly burned. Thank God I still had hair. I tried the curly look – back when Jeri Curls were in. Despite what I did, my hair continued to do as it pleased. Which was mostly curl up and frizz out.
In college I pretty much let it go and thought about dreadlocks. Just thought about them though. I might go a week or two without combing but then I’d always comb it back out. In law school (ages 22-24) I wore it up and had a blonde tail. How attractve (not). And then after law school I cut it all off. It was an inch long. It was one of the most freeing things I’ve ever done. Isn’t hair great? You can cut it off and mess it up and it keeps coming back like old faithful.
Age 25 I started locking. I went for 6 months or so and cut it all off. And then at age 28 I locked again and had locks for about 7 years. They were long and beautiful but heavy. Both physically and mentally. They caused people to think a certain way about me. That I was radical or vegetarian. I was kind of radical and a vegeatarian but who wants to be judged by their cover all the time.
Then I cut off the locks, I kept my hair short for a few years. And then I let it grow and still wore it natural. It got pretty long and I mostly pulled it back. About 2 years ago I got it cut into a curly natural style. Think curly afro again, only this time I chose the curly afro which makes all the difference and differentiates my junior high experience.
Fast forward to today. I’m wearing my hair once again like I did when I was 16. The point? Don’t really have one. But hair is a mysterious thing and a complicated one especially for people of African descent. I do have to say that I actually like my hair now and look forward to playing with it for the rest of my life!
