I love my NATURAL hair!

As of September 5, 2011 my hair is 100% natural! Some of you may not know what exactly that means so let me break it down... Natural meaning my hair is no longer chemically treated and my hair grows the way it was given to me by nature (curly, kinky and full). At the beginning of 2011 my hair was left damaged due to my overprocessing during relaxers and I knew I needed to get it back to a healthy state. Before that time I contemplated going natural but feared the idea of learning how to take care of "nappy" hair. I think it's funny looking back now.. Women often say "Oh I can't do the natural thing my hair is TOO nappy" but that's only in comparison to your bone straight hair so the two seem like polar opposites. I found myself thinking "My hair is TOO nappy to deal with" so I went with what I knew and got a sew-in weave. I ended up having weaves for about 5 months and somewhere in that time span I declared that I was transitioning to natural hair(This is the period of time since one's last relaxer and both hair textures remain) By September I could no longer see myself spending 45 minutes trying to detangle two different hair textures SO I snapped and slowly but surely started chopping my hair off lol. Thinking of it now it seems like an out of body experiece.. like the load that's slowing you down.. I wouldn't stop cutting until I had every piece of relaxed hair OFF MY HEAD.

December 5th marked my 3rd month post big chop (the cutting of all relaxed hair) and I am extremely happy with my decision to embrace my natural curl pattern. Learning how to take care of my hair and keep it healthy has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. I would never discourage any from continuing to get relaxers BUT I will say that going natural is not as bad as you may think. It does take patience but with research and listening to your hair it makes the process a lot easier. With me being a visual learner Youtube has helped my journey tremendously. There are countless tutorials on things like shampooing your hair to styling your hair like your favorite celebrity.

I don't intend on making my blog all about natural hair BUT it is a part of my life so I will be talking about it here and there.

To everyone on their journey to healthy or natural hair.. stay encouraged! Surround yourself with great people and others who are working towards the same goal. I owe a lot of my strength to my friends Tot, Chantal (Nikki) and Michele. They have been the biggest help in my journey.. seeing their success let's me know it's possible to obtain my hair goals! Stay inspired and stay tuned!

A little of my journey:

 My hair in September 2010. It was so thin from being relaxed.. I was achieving length BUT my hair was never full and I couldn't stand that!

 This is me January 1, 2011. I had my last relaxer (at the time I didn't know it was) but I loved my short cut! Although I was soooo in love with the cut my hair grew extremely fast and I ended up relaxing it way too often.

 The sew-in that saved my life! My sister in the weave queen and hooks me up EVERYTIME she does my hair!

My first day wearing my twa to work. I was NERVOUS and feeling insecure. I wore it out for a few days and then the wigs returned.

Almost 3 months and I got my hair straightened. Loved it!!!!

This article REALLY inspired me.

Today I was wandering the crazy world of Youtube and stumbled upon one of my favorite natural hair vlogggers, Taren916. Now she always discusses some great topics and helps A LOT with my natural hair journey.. this time her video was a little different. She talked about the significance of the number 11 in her life. She explained how after her mothers passing she has always seen this number consecutively in random places and she did her research to find that it is a spiritual message. Here is the link to her video: http://www.youtube.com/user/taren916?feature=grec_index#p/u/7/1oTmSvhVqnM

During her explanation she said two words that stuck out to me: Rapid Manifestation. I had no idea why those words made such an impact on me BUT I immediately heard the voice of God telling me to reasearch them. I know saying "I heard the voice of God" may seem weird, but when you hear it... you know. Sometimes it comes in different ways.. LOUD and undeniable or softer but stern. We all may hear it differently.. I don't know but I know when I hear it.

ANYWHO... I researched those words in Google and found A LOT of websites dedicated to Rapid Manifestation. They described that the energy we give off attracts the same type of energy back to us. There was one website in particular that kept my attention. Here is the part that impacted me the most:
     "As you prepare yourself and guard yourself, and are frightened and worried about anything you do not want, by focusing your attention on it and adding emotion to your thought, you are attracting the very thing you are trying to guard against. The more you try to defend, resist and guard against it, the more you fear it and the more powerful the attraction becomes."

Here's the link to the full article: http://www.howtocreateyourfuture.com/Secrets/RapidManifestation.html

Please take a moment to read it. I pray that it makes us more aware of the things we bring into our lives based on our thoughts, attitudes and energy. It's funny because I'm now remembering that I was watching Oprah's Life Class and she was talking about the same thing! God always sends us messages and this is obviously something I need to learn. Until next time!

The Game of Love: Make Your Own Rules

As of the 25th of September my boyfriend and I have officially been together for 6 months! Now I am very quiet when it comes to my relationship for my own personal reasons but when there are moments to celebrate I am a little more open.
We spent the weekend together but on the 25th I wanted to do something EXTRA special... so special that I didn't realize I was stressing myself out behind the idea of doing something SO over the top. Let's just say I went through the "I have nothing to wear", "I feel ugly", "Am I fun enough?" and "I feel fat" all while trying to get dressed to go out. Not to mention I cried because I had overwhelmed myself and was ready to not go anywhere. A few minutes after he calmed me down and I stopped being a typical female I laughed at myself for being so silly. There are many times where we have to do things EXTRA BIG because "that's what you're supposed to do". What I'm learning in life and in my relationship is that we are all given the right to make our own decisions and make our own rules. Who said that we HAD to do something so out of the ordinary to celebrate the fact that we've made it to 6 months? Who set the standards and guidelines to what makes a relationship successful? That day it was made clear to me that no matter what we did I was going to be happy because I was with HIM. I didn't need a fancy restaurant or a hot air balloon ride to convince me that we have something special. In the end we went to the Cheescake Factory and enjoyed each others company, laughed and stuffed our faces. When it comes to love rules will be broken, made and adjusted. There aren't any voices that should matter other than the two individuals involved. Don't be afraid to go against the grain... you'll be so much happier in the end ;)

Until next time!
Desarée

Checking in...

Hello all!

It has been a while since I've last blogged. not because I've forgotten or because I've grown bored. What I'm learning is that I was and still am going through the very experiences that I blog about. I don't write from a 'forced' place... the blog becomes boring or uninspiring. I have to be truthful and only speak of what I know. I have been in many situations over these past few months where I have been discouraged, encouraged, enlightened, tested and restored. There are many things I am learning I cannot control, although I am a bit of a control freak. I am also learning more about myself as I approach my 24th birthday next Tuesday (the 16th). God is good... and the moment I have the *spark* I love so much... I will be writing. I feel it coming though so stay tuned!

For those who need that extra push to continue...

My mom put this song on my slideshow for my college graduation party. Never did I realize the irony in this song as I did today. This song truly touched me. The lyrics are absolutely true and inspirational. To any who has ever had a dream and thought of quitting or became discouraged... this is for you. For those of you who have had an idea or thoughts that were out of the ordinary and no one seemed to understand... this is for you.

Stay inspired. Stay encouraged.

Missing Michael Jackson 6-25-2011

They say you never miss a good thing til it's gone. I truly believe that the day Michael Jackson left this earth many people realized what a gift we had. For years this man entertained, serenaded and moon walked for  every audience possible. There are very few if any who can deny this talent this man possessed. not to mention his caring and joyful spirit. In spite of the media attacking him in his last years, I honestly believe he knew how he touched the WORLD. He will be forever missed. I will never forget the many family gatherings where we would watch a concert of his or turn an album on. The amount of joy and laughter that transpired is indescribable. if you never took the chance before to recognize what a gift this man was. His music touches many generations and will continue to do so forever more.