Hair Drama

This is a small, small rant on the unexpected cultural drama that is hair:

After 7 months of having my hair in braids I have called it quits. This is a relationship that had to end. It was a tough decision because I was dependent. I was used to not having to do anything besides grab a hair tie and I was spoiled from the convenience. Plus it had become my look on board since few people were still here and remembered the 3 days when I first arrived and did not have braids.

I have gotten mixed reactions: "why?", "you look different", "you look older/ younger/ American"! And I have endured the five hundred conversations, to explain how braids work and why I was sick of them, that I have to give to all my not of African decent friends who are uneducated in the art of braids. It's funny that at home I haven't worn braids since high school so people wouldn't be shocked to see my straight hair, but here it is a slowly dying drama that my hair is loose.

The most common questions and answers are these:
Why did I end my love of braids? I just did. It was a phase that I have out grown.
Why did it take so long to go from braids to straight hair? I had to loose the braids (that took 2.5 hours), perm/ relax my hair, wash, condition, blow dry and straighten. In total 4.5 hours!

The end. I can now rest easy knowing a few more crew members are educated on how to deal with black hair :)