Keeping It Real

I have gotten a lot of questions about being natural from people who are considering going natural and I feel the need to keep it real for all of those people because there's nothing worse than a rude awakening.
I love natural hair!  I feel most the way God intended me to be with my natural hair and no one can argue that that's not beautiful.  There's something unapologetically bold about a head full of big fluffy kinky curly or whatever hair.  There's something stunning about just letting something be what it is and that goes for whatever kind of hair you may have.
Now on the keeping it real side:
Having natural hair is not "easy" unless you have the kind of hair you wake up shake and go and let me tell you I don't have that kind of hair.  It takes patience and to this day over 2 years in I still wonder why the hell I'm doing this some days.  And then I think of the alternative.  Chemicals, hair damage, scalp burns, etc. ... all for straight bland hair (at least it was bland on me).  And I have to acknowledge that I've become part of something more than just hair.  People have looked at me and commended me and changed their mind about certain things because they didn't know letting their hair be the way it grows out of their heads was even an option for them.  And that makes me feel great.  What would I be saying if I went back?

I'm a low maintenance kind of girl.  Even with relaxed hair, I would avoid the hair salon like the plague.  So the thought of spending an entire evening on my hair is hard for me and that's essentially what I do at least every other week.   It tangles, it frizzes, I feel like it hates me some days.  And other days I feel like I'm wearing a crown!  So at the end of the day is it worth it?  For me, yes.  But there are many who have gone this route and turned right back because it "wasn't for them"... as in they weren't committed to it.  So think long and hard about what you want and how you want to go about it.  And then, if you still feel compelled to do it, then jump right in!  For me, I'll say there is no turning back despite my whining some days.  I love my natural hair!