Today I entered a contest for natural hair. The contest is being held by a couple of wonderful young ladies on their blog, Pretty Natural Divas (PND). I came upon PND while surfing new natural hair videos on YouTube and am really glad I did! In PND I found a certain excitement for natural hair and healthy living in general, which I hadn't come across in a long time. The founders of PND, Jameka and Sierra are awesome! In all of their YouTube videos and blogs, you find two women who are extremely positive, creative, and excited not just about hair, but life! And that is really refreshing to see.
On a side-note: I guess some might say this is ironic (I don't), but Jameka is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc and Sierra is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc (OO-OOP!), two powerful and influential public service organizations for predominantly Black women. Traditionally, members of the two organizations have been considered bitter rivals, so to see the coalition between Jameka and Sierra leaves some people taken aback. I, however, think it's GREAT, and we need to see more of it!
Anywho, I've been watching their videos and reading their blog, and decided to enter a contest in which I had to submit a picture of my hair in it's natural state and tell what products were used and how the look was achieved. The photo was submitted in a survey with one other contestant's photo. People can now vote for whichever style they like the best! What fun! It was really easy too. I just chose the picture I took on the day after my Big Chop and "wah-lah"! Done!
I sent messages to my peeps asking them to PLLLEEEAAASSSEE vote for me and received many good responses. But one of my friends responded to my text by saying, "...how the heck [did] u get into this[?]" This kind of caught me by surprise and made be really stop to think about what I'm doing...what I'm into now. Ever since I did my Big Chop, my newest obsession has been my hair. I often wonder "Why? Why now when never before?" This is not my first time being natural, and by that I mean having my hair in it's natural state (no perm, relaxer, dyes, etc.). I've actually been natural for the majority of my life. So what's so different this time?
What I've found to be different this time has to do with social networking. YouTube, Facebook, Blogging, Natural Hair Care Forums. All of these avenues have been opened to me: to read about other "Naturals" experiences, to view their videos and read their blogs. And now...to have my OWN videos and blog. It's, damn right, EXCITING! I never knew about this world of "Naturals" before finding it on YouTube. And I love it! I love doing research, I love watching the videos, reading the blogs, making videos and now blogging. It gives me something to be a part of, sort of like a revolution. I feel proud to be having the same experiences as so many other Black women and now having the avenues to channel that energy into something positive.
So yes...I'm into it deep now! I'm entering contests, I'm taking pictures, I'm joining Forums, I'm shopping for products, and I'm documenting my progress and my experiences with my natural hair. I'm loving every moment being a "Natural" and part of this Natural Hair Community. When my friend asked me how the heck I got into this, my response was just to laugh out loud, to not really commit any specific answer to her. But what I should have said was..."I got rid of my relaxer and cut off my hair."
The rest is herstory...
To vote, please visit this link:
Thanks!!
No comments:
Post a Comment