"The first time I really experienced [my hair taking up space] was freshman year of high school. I was half perm/half natural because I wasn't ready to do the big chop yet. I went to the hair place on Sunday and they put twists in and told me not to take them out until Wednesday. I went to school on Monday with a little hat on and in my French class my French teacher said, 'Just take the hat off.' She made a big deal of it and took like 15 minutes of class time to harass me about having this little beanie.
I felt possessive and protective over my hair, and I was insecure because this was the first time I was learning to deal with my hair as it grew out of my head naturally. I decided I was going to stand my ground, my hair is not causing any problems, and I'm not causing any problems. She kicked me out of class and sent me to the principal's office.
The principal wrote me a script and said I could stay in his office if I wanted and I didn't have to go back to class. This was my first time coming into my own when it came to my hair, and to be treated like my hair was a problem felt really problematic and made me emotional.
I went to the bathroom and took the twists out, crying. There were a bunch of girls in the bathroom and one girl said 'Your hair looks so pretty,' and even though I thought I looked like a little boy, I felt supported. I went back to my French class and everyone was supporting me (except my French teacher, who was still pissed).
"I'm not my hair, and if people are staring, then that's OK."
That was a good way to start my natural hair journey, because it taught me that for some reason, some people are not going to be OK with the way Black women's hair grows naturally out of their head. Because I stood up in that scenario, I never allowed their opinions to impact me. I'm not my hair, and if people are staring, then that's OK."
