If I am not my hair . . .Then who am I?

I love India.arie for raising awareness about self love. I think people of color just need to have a big ol' self love party and she kicked it off.

Who am if I'm not my hair?

Sensitive to the feelings of others Afraid to be misjudged Always open to making new friends Good at networking to make contacts but not good at following up (I'm workin' on that--I get shy sometimes (; ) A team player Giving Loyal Eager to belong Willing to help out nice Fully devoted to living a full and happy life A dependable friend Sensitive Honest in a "What I tell you may hurt but I'll consider your feelings as much as possible" kind of gal Caring Intelligent A planner Unconditionally loving On the path to self love (my SL's have helped smoothen out the ride) An American-born Nigerian (talk about identity confusion) Sometimes, well ok, oftentimes politically correct In love with science but not sure about giving my life to science Perceptive Overly inquisitive A great communicator and conversationalist--not much else to do but talk while growing up in a suburban town that lacks a city Genuinely concerned A former pleaser Self aware Cheerfully sarcastic in my humor A realistic optimist Constantly growing and changing Ready to graduate but hesitant to grow up

And so on, and so on. . .

When embraced my natural hair in the summer of 1999, I began learning how to love myself. My SL's took it a step further because they helped me discover the woman I am. I feel like I am exploring my womanhood because I'm single without kids, I've never had a professional job, and have extended my adolescence by attending school from Kindergarten to PhD. I've been able to live on my own time, play, explore and be mentally free. Being able to live my life this way has been a tremendous gift and blessing. But If I was bald, I'd still be all of the traits above.

In finding myself and discovering my inner beauty, my hair has been a source of self love, vanity, confidence, dignity and shame. We are who we are and no one should tell us who we are based on our appearance, they have to get to know the person inside. Do people do this? No, we are judged by our appearance. India.arie is just reminding us that looking at my outside appearance to know me is like judging the depth of the sea with your eyes and not your hands--its a serious underestimation.

Just my thoughts. Have a blessed and safe holiday weekend!
Chi(:

I am blessed. . .

I just wanted to share a sentiment that my friend WCJ gave to me and my friends this weekend. I feel very blessed to have my family and friends on and offline! Peace!

Caruso's are grrrrreat!. . . And weddings too.

Hi all,

Thanks for your posts. I bought the curlers after ziggy encouraged me. ok, yes a sistah can get anal--it's the student in me.

but when i used the curlers for the wedding they were great! My updo lasted all day without hairspray and I received so many compliments. I did a trial run for the rehearsal dinner and when it worked out I was sold. Check out the wedding pics. I had a great time, the bride, groom and their families were really nice. The bride is polish and german and the groom is from australia. They met on campus while pursuing their PhD degrees at an international student mixer. Although the U of C can be scholarly (ie you're holed up by yourself studying to death), its still a place to find love. Alternatively, I met James at Borders. This goes to show that the lab is not the ideal place for matchmaking. Anyway, back to the wedding. It was a very diverse and small wedding (about 50 people)
and everyone was so friendly. I was invited to the groom's uncle partner's home in Bali!

Don't think I'll be going but I just wanted to show how friendly folks were.

More to come soon!
Chi(:
Ps. I am loving the NYC trip posts! I didn't get a chance to




comment on everyone's blogs because there were so many! But it was great to see positive folk come together to have a good time. If its and annual trip, count me in for next year!