It's been Six months already??!!

Hello Everyone!

I can't believe it's been six months already! It has been absolutely phenomenal as far as my hair is concerned. It is doing its thing! I have recieved so many compliments on it and several people in the circles that I travel, have decided to either go natural, and several have gotten locks placed. I don't consider myself by any means to be a poster girl for SL; however, I can't help but share with others the overwhelming joy and freedom that I have experienced as a result of locking my hair. It has not been a week that has gone by that someone hasn't asked by about my hair, wanted to touch it, have complimented me on it, or asked for the number of my lock consultant. This has been an experience in an of itself.

Along the way, I haven't had many problems, with the exception of some slippage around the edges, but other than that, it's growing like weeds in July! Recently, I was told by my consultant that she could tell that I was washing it too much. Of course I was trying to figure out, "how in the world does she know that?" I'll tell you how. She said that you could still see through many of my locks which I guess you shouldn't be able to do at this time. The solution of the problem is to cut back on washing it. I thought that I would die, when she said that! See, here's the problem, I work out 5-7 days per week, so I though washing it weekly was doing good! Well she suggested that I extend the time to 10-14 days, continue to use the SL Getting Started shampoo, and not wash it so vigorously or more than twice per washing. My first thought and comment to these suggestions were, "who wants to have stinky sweaty hair?" I know I don't. Needless to say, I have followed her suggestion and my hair hasn't smelled as bad as I thought it would. She also said that I could use Carol's Daughter's Black Vanilla leave-in conditioner spray once per week (3-5 sprays only!), if I am really concerned about the sweaty hair smell. I must say, so far so good!

Well, the pics in this blog are of me and my childhood friends Monique and Barbara, which is so funny. We called ourselves having a girls night out; I couldn't hang! I was tired so I left the scene about 1 am. The picture of me in the red dress is from my 30 (+1) and flirty birthday celebration. I was in the process of singing, "I don't wanna lose your love" by the Emotions. Notice the finger snap! The last two are from the last retightening. My hair is growing like weeds in July! Of course, you can't tell the length because it still draws up into it's own natural wave pattern. I hope I don't loose the natural "wave" or curliness for a while. I love how it helps me to keep my hair versatile. I must admit that I allow my hair to do as it wishes and I don't try to rush the process, nor do I force it to yield to my will. Now, if I could just apply these principles to the rest of my life...

In Him,

Brandon

Freedom!!!

It is finally behind me. On Monday, I had my qualifying exam for advancement to Candidacy for my PhD. By God's grace and His gift of knowledge, I passed!! I am still in shock. I am not sure if it's because I passed or that I survived it. I must admit that I was fearful about taking the exam, because you really don't know what the committee will ask of you. I did my best and I am proud of myself for not allowing fear to completely overtake me.

Yesterday, I also turned 30 again-which has been amazing in itself. I have grown up so much over the past year, that I thought it would be beneficial to maintain the age in order to continue to grow. Locking my hair was a huge step. As a result, others around me have been encouraged to lock their hair as well. Even a guy at my church had brother locks put in at the beginning of the month.

Making the decision to lock it has been one of the best things I could have done for myself. I do want to thank all of you who have blogged your sisterlock journeys. It was because of you that really gave me the encouragement to step out there. When people ask me about my hair and they tell me that they are thinking about it, I encourage them to look up blogs of people who have locked their hair as well. You all have been an inspiration to me. I pray that we all can experience our freedom of expression at it's finest-simply by being who we are!

On one last note: In the words of my 4 year old cousin, "Bawok Obama won! He's my black Pwresident!" I am SO excited about 44th President of the United States, Barak Obama. May God keep Him and guide Him in his presidency and his family.