of my hair

44 Comments

Genre: Contemporary  

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I am not my hair. My hair is unruly, it grows wild, long and free. I am not my hair but my hair is a part of me.

My hair speaks volumes without me ever saying a word. Judging by the length of my hair, you can tell that I have not been arrested in a long time (they cut your hair when you go to jail, so I have been told) So by the length of my hair you can tell I am a law abiding citizen or maybe I am just really good at never being caught.

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My hair is the length it is, not by design, but simply because I stopped going to the barber every other week, curious to see how long it would go. It grew to become too difficult to comb out the kinks in my hair so I let it grow into locks.

I am not a Rastafarian but people call me Rasta. I walk in the street and random people stop me just to say “Hi Rasta” like we are old friends, we shake hands and they say  “Jah Bless” like we belong to some secret society. They tell me stories about how they are Rastas too, on the inside, even if their hair won’t grow to be like mine and sing that song by Morgan Heritage Family, you do not have to have dreadlocks to be Rasta.

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I am not my hair but less than half of half the people who think they know me would not recognize me if I cut my hair, how can they, when they hardly know my name they just call me Rasta.

Imagine a random person walking up to you and asking you if you can hook them up with a cigarette or asking for matches or simply passing you a blunt and walking away no other words spoken, that happens every other day to me. Sometimes I walk with matches because it is easier to just give someone a light then a lengthy explanation why you do have matches and they still walk away thinking you simply refused.

Some call me Dread because of hair. I read that one of the origins of the word Dread referring to Dreadlocks is that the hairstyle was thought to be dreadful. I have long since discovered that the term Dread is one of respect, Dread also means Fear of the Lord. The Fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom so I rather like this definition of Dread, there is nothing dreadful about it.

I am not my hair but people make assumptions about me from my hair some good some not so good, but I can tell you from my hair you can tell that I I can stick with things for a long time, I guess I am a keeper .

From when my hair was awkward like this…. When everyone kept asking me when I would cut it

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to here

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I am not my hair,

I am not this skin

I am not your expectations

I am a soul that lives within

~India Arie

What does your hair say about you?

~B

My #BlogBattle entry themed Hair….

P.S. it is definitely shoulder length right??

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44 Comments

  1. B! I envy your hair. I’ve kept short hair for the greater part of my existence but this year I decided to get out of my comfort zone(you know, every time I try growing it the salon is all so tiring and whatnot so I just cut). I started my hair journey this year, it’s at the stage where it’s so hard to comb…
    BUT before I start a rant in your comments section(hihi), once it’s long enough I’ll lock it for the rest of my life!(I hope…)

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  2. I enjoyed this post. Gorgeous hair, by the way! I like how people sort of assume based on someone’s look, e.g. that you must be a Rastafarian because you have dreadlocks. What does my hair say about me? Nothing and everything:-)

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    1. 🙂
      if you ask me nicely I will lend you my pillow, you just lay your head on it like this…. and when you wake up your hair is retouched……

      hahahaha kidding, you could learn some Do It Yourself, its really not that hard, sometimes I do my own hair by myself 🙂
      ~B

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  4. Pingback: #BlogBattle 52 “Hair” Entries & Voting – Fiction by Rachael Ritchey

  5. I absolutely love your hair. 😍 I’m also intrigued by hair (much as you have stated in your post). I have a post written about hair and identity. We are not our hair but we are for sure judged (and sometimes defined) by it. My bright purple streak is part of me. And I’ve been judged for that. 😜

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    1. Thank you Sarah….
      It”s never just hair is it?♣ lol
      I love your bright purple too, remember it from some monochromatic post…..
      ~B
      P.S. how can you be sad when you have purple in your hair? ☺☻♥

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  7. I keep mine short because it won’t grow so I make short hair hairstyles. It’s convenient, I can shower without a cap and it’s super cheap to maintain. I started saving money the moment I came to terms with the reality of hair that won’t grow.

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      2. ooooh you have no idea, I circle the date I detangle and shampoo my hair on the calander and prepare for it like its the end of the world, some no more tears shampoo and towels, I am starting to think I should buy a pair of swimming goggles for when I shampoo my hair hmmm thats an idea….

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  8. This made me think, not so much about your hair, but how we see each other. I could say, “I am not my fat.” or “I am not my age” I am surprised what people think of me because of how I look, and I try not to do the same to them. However, I am afraid I often make the same kind of snap judgements. I enjoyed your post. It gave me much to think about.

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  9. Thought provoking. And wonderful hair. 🙂 Hair, like anything else about us that the world can see, says things that we’re not even aware of until we think about it. You’ve now got me thinking about what my hair is saying about me. 🙂

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  10. I quite like your hair, although I would say it’s longer than shoulder length. Sorry some people treat you as though you are a label instead of a person.

    Maybe you could just smile at them and think, “Ah, but you don’t know I’m a writer, too.” In case it helps. 🙂

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    1. Thank you Cathleen
      yey I did not want to lie to myself by outright declaring I have longer than shoulder length hair…. besides I have a hint of modesty hahahaha

      ~B
      P.S. I do that all the time, it helps I look at someone and think ooooh I am so going to mould a character after you and bad things are soo going to be happening to you. Is that wicked of me? ☺☺☻☻

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  11. I have some hair envy going on! Fab post Beaton and it gets my vote!

    I am blonde (natural) and that’s all I am going to say. I enjoy being blonde and I think like a blonde too 🙂

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  15. Interesting, chatty blog. I had never thought of the advantages of long hair. I have a long-haired grandson.. sometimes I wish he would cut it, but now it is too much “him.” His wife loves it I love that she loves it/him. I see you marked my follow. Thanks, hope you will enjoy the journey with me.

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    1. thank you 🙂 appreciate you stopping by,

      yes….. the hair kinda grows on you hahaha see what I did there. thank you for sharing the bit about your grandson 🙂 my mum used to ask me every day when I would get my hair cut, now not so much, even sends me her special home made hair conditioner 🙂

      ~B

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  16. Pingback: Of Coffee On WashDay | Becoming The Muse

  17. I love your locs! I recently just started dreads earlier this year, and I’m hoping to grow out of the ugly stage soon (thought honestly I’ve come to love it at its current level).

    It’s so crazy how people try to size us up by our outward appearance. In Nigeria many people were confused because my ‘Deeper Life’ natural hair was offset by my nose ring and trousers. I’m glad that you’re confident enough in your identity to not let others’ perceptions define you!

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    1. Thank You Chineme
      the thing about your hair is it grows on you hahahahaha
      People will be people trying to define and understand everything(which they cant) and then covfefe
      ~B

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  18. Pingback: Day 23 #BlogTemberChallenge – Afrobloggers

    1. Hahaha it does have a nice ring to it and a touch of respect… I notice in a street full of strangers a random will walk up to me and ask for directions or some of form of help instead of anyone else around its almost like a symbol of being… A decent human being…. Although the police target a dread locked individual as the first suspect, isn’t that ironic
      ~B

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