The Beginning

Who am I?

My name is Zaakirah (Zaaa-Kir-ah), I'm 21 years old, a Philadelphia native and a natural hair fanatic.

Why I hated my natural hair:

One day in third grade a classmate said to me "tell your mom to fix your hair because its getting nappy." A boy next to me overheard and laughed so hard the teacher heard him. She asked why he was laughing and of course he announced to the entire class that he was laughing at my nappy hair. Most embarrassing moment of my life to date. After school, I marched right home and told my mom what had happened and demanded she do something. That weekend I got my first relaxer at age nine. I went to school on Monday feeling like a million bucks and no one dared called my hair nappy again.

Why I decided to go natural:

After years of getting a relaxer every 6-8 weeks and then turning into a lazy bum and relaxing whenever I felt like it my hair began to suffer. Dry, brittle, split and broken! One day in my senior year of high school I was fed up and decided I had enough. I was kickin' the crack and leaving relaxers in the past. I did not know at the time but this was the first step in my natural hair journey. 

The Struggle:

In my senior year I had no idea what it meant to be natural. I had no idea there was a huge online community equipped with video tutorials and How-to guides. I was transitioning alone. And hated every minute of it. The breakage got worse, more split ends, and on top of that, in the depths of my disgusting relaxed ends, I was once again dealing with my dreaded nappy hair. 

Revelations:

My first year in college was one of many discoveries. This included the world of natural hair. within a few months I was an expert. I  even learned new vocabulary like TWA, protective styling, co-wash, etc. I was in love. This is when I also met one of my close friends, Michelle. Like myself she was also transitioning to natural hair. I think I was very lucky to have someone who was going through exactly what I was with my hair. We shared advice, challenges, new things we loved about our hair and something even more important.

Big Chop:

One morning Michelle came banging on my dorm room door with soaking wet hair, conditioner and scissors. I was shocked but I knew what was happening. she pulled a chair in front of the mirror and just started cutting her relaxed ends. I stared in amazement, but said nothing. Watching her transformation was a thrill. I was high from excitement. When she was almost done, she looked at me out of the corner of her eye and said "You know you're next, right?" I started to panic inside, but just smiled and said "oh, I guess so." she finished and it was my turn. I took the scissors, but I couldn't do it. I wanted to do it but I was being a big baby as usual. Michelle took the scissors and started cutting my hair for me. I was in shock. It didn't help that the door was open and everyone on my floor was waking up and walking by. Some people even came to the door and watched. When it was all done I absolutely loved it. I couldn't stop touching it. Michelle changed my life! 

How did you journey start?