I was born in 1993 with naturally curly hair, and now I’m finally proud of it! For years I have had many issues with my natural hair (sometimes it looked poodle-like,) other times it was viewed as ‘ugly’ by the media. In either situation, the worst thing being curly-haired caused for me was my insecurity in high school.
In a recent, Seventeen shared an online listicle sharing all the things you should never say to someone with curly hair. I’m pretty sure that some people saw the link for this thinking, “Oh, I’ve never said anything rude to a curly-haired girl before…” Sadly, people like me, opened the link, only to recall times when people said everything the article listed to our faces!
The listed statement that stood out to me most was, “you look a lot better with your hair straight!” I mean, I heard that statement on a broken record in high school -literally!
My graduating class’ Homecoming Queen, who I played field hockey with (along with many other of our teammates), said that to me. As soon as any field hockey practice came to ends meet, my perfectly-straightened hair sweated out, and they’d quote the above to me. Or, they’d just simply ask if I planned on straightening it for the following day…
It may sound like I am blaming my awesome teammates for this, but I’m not at all. The person I’m blaming for everything is the once highly-insecure Sophia! If I look back on it, I longed to be complimented for anything. I mean, I was a teenager after all! Like everyone my age, I had a lot to figure out, and compliments of any kind would make me feel better, even if it was about something that wasn’t a reality of me.
Fast forward to senior year in college, I finally arrived at the greatest revelation, like, ever! The day prior to this, I spent each day ruining my locks with a 400-plus heat, daily. Recently, I woke up several minutes past my alarm clock’s ring, and in no-way-shape-or-form did I have time to straighten my hair. I remember feeling incredibly stressed about not having time, but the night before, I saw a picture of the Olsen twins – who have the most awesome blond-ish waves ever! I hate to compare myself to celebrities, but that very dynamic duo empowered my self-esteem like never before.
There I sat at home, in front of a mirror admiring my hair, as I was about to be late for choir rehearsal. All I could really do at this point was just leave my house and head out to sing. I’m a member of the Women’s Ensemble here at OU – a choir with over one hundred talented females – and they all complimented me on my real hair when I got there.
While their compliments were great to receive, the compliment I had to accept the most was my own. Before now, I longed for any kind of praise but this very morning, I learned to praise myself. Besides, I’d only get a few compliments when I used my CHI straightener each day. Now, I’m actually told how great my hair is, all the time. Before this, hair compliments were backhanded and quite rare. Let’s remember, I compared myself to THE OLSEN TWINS… it felt amazing!
Bottom line is, your hair is your hair! It’s yours to rock and do not allow others to decide how it looks best – on top of wearing it curly, I took the risk of going from brunette to blonde around the same time. Most people begged me not to do this, but I went ahead anyways. And guess what? Those same people were obsessing over it.
So yes, your hair… your power! Better yet, this goes to show that stepping out of the crowd is the only way to leave a mark. Do it with your hair, and do this with everything else you do, collegiettes™!
Instagram pictures of you loving your curly hair and tag us @hercampusohiou!