Curly Hair, I Am Sorry I Have Not Always Loved You

An open letter to my frizzy head of hair:

Dear Curly (Wavy? Straight?) Hair,

I am sorry that I have not always loved you. 

I'm sorry I straightened you every single day of middle school. I'm sorry for all the times I've attempted to hide you behind a ponytail, pretending you weren't really there. And I'm sorry for telling everyone that I hated you.

I never REALLY hated you, it's just that sometimes you made me REALLY frustrated.

And you've gotta understand where I'm coming from here. You never did officially introduce yourself. You kinda just showed up one day, and then the next you wandered off to who knows where─just leaving me hanging, you know? 

Shortly after our brief encounter, the Lord looked down from heaven and said, "Let there be frizz." And it was so.

A few days later a lone curl emerged and I got my hopes up, but then you didn't show for days. I was just so confused.

We went back and forth like this for months. I waited for you, I looked for you. I called out for you and coaxed gently. Every once in awhile you'd make an appearance, but it was never just a little hey there or how's it going─NO. It was nothing like that. You jumped out and screamed at the top of your lungs, WHAT UP! HOW YOU BEEN? CAN YOU HEAR ME? IS THE MICROPHONE ON?

Sorry, but I just wasn't ready for that. 

It's all in the approach, you know? Nothing against you, but first impressions are kind of important. Well, let's just say I may have made a few false assumptions based on those first encounters. You freaked me out a bit─and in response to that I pulled out the straightener, and never looked back.

But I'll give it to ya, you never gave up. Even when I kept running, you kept pursuing. Didn't matter if it was the rain, sweat from a workout, or plain and simple humidity, you kept finding ways to show up.

Well─one day a few years or so later, the knowledge came into my head that there's this thing called heat damage, and it kinda wrecks your hair.

Woops. 

That's my bad. I'd like to officially apologize for that time in my life. I say with sincerity that I didn't know what I was doing. I had pushed you away for so long, denied your presence for so many years, that I had damaged our relationship─and in doing so, I damaged you.

No longer were you vibrant and energetic, but dry and limp.

The mending took time─it's still taking time, but I think we're both slowly learning to forgive. 

You're getting longer now─that's pretty cool. I understand that maybe you haven't exactly found yourself yet, and that's cool too, it takes time. I'm not gonna lie though, I'd appreciate a little consistency. By all means, it's okay when you're straight one day and curly the next─but I'm still not so sure about the combo days when you attempt that mix of both. I'm just telling you this because I care─it doesn't always work so well.

We're getting there, the two of us. As I've said before, it just takes time.

I'm sorry it took so long for me to just accept you the way you are. Maybe that had something to do with accepting myself. 

So once again, I am sorry that I have not always loved you. Mom's always told me that love is a choice. Well─now I'm choosing to love you.





[Interested in reading more? Check out the Blog Archive to the right to find links to my other posts.]


If you liked this post, you might like...
5 Pros & Cons Of Long Hair
A Letter to the Girl Who Feels Lonely
An Open Letter To Eight Year Old Me



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