This past weekend I decided to do something drastic. Something that would be a significant change.
I decided to grow my hair out so I could possibly get dreadlocs.
The last time I had a haircut was the first week of Dec. and during the winter I hardly ever go to the barbershop. The longest I usually go without a haircut is maybe four weeks, but no too long ago I realized that I hadn’t had a haircut in about six weeks. This wouldn’t have been so bad if I could’ve just went to the barbershop the next day and get my ears lowered, but it wasn’t that simple. With classes starting, working a good 20 hours at The Clarion, and having to schedule an appointment to see my barber trying to get my haircut was going to be a hassle.
At first, I figured I would just try to hold out until I could get an appointment with my barber. Then, I started worrying about snow falls that could potentially mess up my appointment to the point where I would have to get another one. While I was pondering on what I was going to do about my hair, I was watching the post-game interview of Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald who’s team had just beaten the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game. I’m a fan of Larry Fitzgerald and I always thought his dreadlocs were fresh, so when I saw him doing this interview, a light bulb went off in my head.
Grow dreads, it said.
I was kind of skeptical, at first. I was worried about growing my hair out because it’s hard to pull girls with an afro and in the several times I had previously attempted to grow my hair out, I would always get self concious and cut my hair off before it would get long enough for my desired results, which were braids.
I came to the conclusion that this time would be different. The main reason is the fact that I can wear a hat, anytime, anyplace, and anywhere (for the most part, anyway). Hats will protect people from seeing the nappy mess underneath it. The other reason is my self confidence. It is 10 times higher than the last time I grew my hair out ( when I was 16). The last reason is possibly the most important.
I will be turning 20 years old at the end of April and I plan to transfer to a four-year institution in the fall. To me, this means I will be making some of the biggest changes in my life and with my journey to get dreadlocs, I feel as if I’m going through some type of metamorphosis. And I think that it will be good for me.
Just like the transition of a caterpillar to a butterfly.