Curlicue Blues

By Karolyn Castaldo on April 25, 2012

My entire life, I have had this mess of long, dark brown, incredibly thick and extremely curly hair. Not the cute little ringlets that can be worn down after a shower and dry perfectly, or the kind that look like like I just spent the day at the beach, all windswept and wavy. My hair dries wiry and triangular so that I have this frizzy, curly pyramid sitting around my face.

Photo from Flickr.com by julinemo

My friends, you know, the ones with straight hair or at least mildly manageable hair, would always give me useless suggestions: brush it out more, try using more product, get that haircut I read about in Cosmo! Nothing worked. Nothing. I ended up looking like a greasy poodle with all of these crazy attempts to tame my mane. I could also never cut it shorter than my shoulders for fear that it would dry and literally have an afro: that just wasn’t me.

More recently, I have been experimenting with my hair a little more. I have been used to the usual braid or messy bun for far to long, and with hair as long as mine, straightening takes more time than I want to spend on it. My roommates have been forcing me to get out of the shower, put my usual amount of product in, and then not touch my hair and I have to admit, it’s not as bad as I thought it used to be.

It could be that my hair has begun to change for the better or it simply could be that college is a time for experimentation and growth. Yes, most people would hope that my growth as a person would extend beyond my hair and it has, but this is definitely a noticeable feat for me. My curlicues have always been something that I have hated and wanted to get rid of. Letting my hair down (literally!) has been a big relief. I still carry a hair elastic around as a back up and I will never be the kind of girl who always wears her hair down, but I am less worried about the poof that may come from my hair with a little heat and humidity.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that in college it is important to take that extra step towards accepting what you have been given. There’s no point in fighting with your hair every morning or squeezing into that pair of jeans that clearly will not fit anymore. Accept it and move on so that you have more time to enjoy your time at school. You’ll be happier for it in the end.

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