Nappy Kitchen

Le Big Chop

So I did it. Did what you say? The BIG CHOP I say! *shucking and jiving*

I know you're wondering how I went from maybe I'll do it to sitting here telling you it's a done deal. Wellll...I had a looong night on Tuesday. Meditating, praying, reflecting on a little of everything, including my hair issue. I had to ask myself why I was holding on to my hair. Was it for me or for others? Long story short, Goddess saw fit to instill a little fearlessness when I woke up the next day.

I was a born procrastinator. So that's what I did for most of the day. Went back and forth in my mind. I fiddled with my hair, pulled it back, and tried to project into my short hair future. I even cut a few more pieces of hair off the back to try and "see" how it would turn out. I came back to my desk...sat down and browsed a few hair albums, and happened upon MzDacia's album. I looked at her big chop pics. She had her cut her hair down to the itty bitty...maybe a 1/2 inch, but she was rocking it like nobody's business, ya heard? And I said to myself, I know I'm cute, I know I can do this. So I took myself into the bathroom and proceeded to cut a chunk of hair in the front. No turning back! I cut more and more until the front was halfway finished. Awww chit now! This ain't half bad, I thought.

So about an hour later I was pretty much finished. Feeling good...head feeling light and whatnot. Thin spots in effect...but they can be worked with. :) All in all I felt like yelling like Ric Flair, "Woooooo!"

Anyway here's the finished result. Click for a bigger version:

Reactions:

My sister - "Oh god! I could NOT do that!" And later: "It don't look that bad."

My niece - She was just curious...asked a lot of questions. Her hair's been more or less natural since August. She said, "I want my hair to grow til it reaches my butt." Alright now!

My mama - "WHATCHU DOIN????" and "You cut it real short. Would you wear it like that to the club?" To which my vain ass replied, "Hellz no. Not with these thin spots!"

My sister's "friend" - "Natural hair is not for today's black women." Ummm, fool you are brainwashed! Go directly to coon jail. Do not pass go, do not collect watermelon and chicken!

Forgive me for sounding clichéd, but when I cut my hair off I literally felt as if a weight had been lifted. I went from feeling sluggish to hyperactive. Whatever was spiritually holding me back was snipped away with my handy dandy scissors. I literally feel like a new person. Pretty cool!

Don't get me wrong. I know there will be days when I have bad hair days. When I look in the mirror at hair that resembles a brillo pad and think, "Lawd, what have I done???!!!" But not now. Right about now I'm feeling easy and free and lovely and ME. I think I'm gone coast on this good feeling for a while.

Posted by Lisa at February 5, 2004 04:27 PM