When it comes to my wardrobe, I gain inspiration everywhere. People, places, things, television and even the environment. Yup, the sky, trees and weather all inspire my outfits. I can look at a vintage doorknob and become inspired to rock the color bronze with studded accents. I never like to look the same. One day I’ll rock a hippie inspired get-up and the next I’ll have an edgy Rihanna inspired look. Some may think it’s a little schizo but I call it being free. I think it’s important to use the world as inspiration for whatever you do.
As I transitioned to natural hair, I gained inspiration from several places. The first social network I joined was called Fotki. I shamelessly stalked dozens of women’s hair over the 2 years I transitioned but there was one naturalista that stood out. Her username was SexyHair. She’s a beautiful African girl with a massive mane. Whenever I would get discouraged I would look at her pics and imagine the possibilities.
I would also gain inspiration from women I would randomly see in Wal-Mart or the grocery store. They had somehow made it through the tedious transition to the promised land and it encouraged me to believe that I could to. I’m a visual person. When I read magazines, I usually skim through to look at the photographs and advertisements first. Seeing models in ads with natural hair helped me feel more confident about my decision to go natural. If Macy’s believed a Black woman with natural hair was cool enough to put on a gigantic ad, then it had to be true, right?
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In Mississippi (where I live), we have enormous trees. Seeing Willow Trees makes me think of a slim girl with big hair. I kind of laugh to myself when I see one and think #teamnatural. But, the place that I probably gained the most inspiration from would be Youtube. More specifically, the user, NajahFace. I can credit her for most of the knowledge I gained to care for my hair as I transitioned. I hung on to her every word-I was like a sponge. The more information I learned, the more confident I felt about caring for my natural hair.
Finding inspiration is important because it encourages and motivates. Many women think if you envious of over another chica’s hair you’re “jocking,” but throw that out of the window. Having someone or something that inspires you can be the difference between you completing your transitioning journey or quitting. It definitely helped me make it through. So, pull out your smart phone and get to stalking; there is a world of inspiration to gain.
Chime Edwards is an extremely popular YouTube vlogger with over 145,000 subscribers. Chime was also featured in Nikki Walton’s (Curly Nikki) book, ‘Better Than Good Hair.’