So a couple of weeks ago, I was talking to someone and subject of hair came up. I will preface this by saying that person I was conversing is white and her interactions with African Americans are limited.  We were talking about religious beliefs and she was shocked to learn that I was COGIC (Saints Home Stand Up!!!!). She made statement that with my locs she thought I was Rasta or a Muslim. "It must be hard for you to walk into church with your hair like that." I replied that the thought never crossed my mind because when I enter the house of the Lord seeking his face is I all that I am concerned about.

We got on other subjects but her statement stood out in my mind. What did my hair say to other people? I have natural for a little under 8 years and been rocking locs for 17 months and never once given thought to how I may be perceived. Did professors and potential employers think I was a radical person  with a extremism outcome? More importantly why was it important? While I believe appearance can give a glimpse into one's personality I don't believe hair can tell the essence of someone.

I wear locs because I want to NOT because I want to prove a point or anger my friends and family.  I am scientist. I am scholar. I'm conversative in some aspects and liberal in others. I treat my body as temple. I like India.Arie and Maroon Five.  I can be rational and irrational in the same thought. I like red and likes to group items in sevens. This is personality, my hair is one extension of it and I shouldn't be judged by it.

A friend and I were talking about our childhood and how that got us to where we are today. I can say I was an extremely mischevious child. I love playing pranks on my brothers and people at church. But I was also a child aware of my skin color and hair. I can remember as far back as kindergarten asking if I was mixed because I had such good hair for a dark skin person. 

 I can remember this Chinese lady coming up to me after a Bears ( GO BEARS!!!!!) game and telling that she could make my hair. This is probably where my hair obession started.  Even though I was a tomboy and couldn't figure for the life of me why I couldn't pee standing up, I would spend hours in the mirror just messing with my hair.

 My third grade year, I got my first perm. I walked into my class the next day flipping my hair and beamed in all the comments I got about my shiny tresses. This is began my faze with perms that would continue until I graduated from high school.