The process of loving your natural hair is a journey that almost every black girl goes through. I remember hating my natural hair in middle school because I'd get funny stares, and people would tug at my curls and laugh. So when I watched Netflix's film Nappily Ever After, I felt an instant connection to the main character, Violet Jones (Sanaa Lathan). She's constantly chasing after this image of perfection, and unfortunately, she believes her natural curls ruin that image. Instead, she sticks to extensions, weaves, and nightmarish hair relaxers to get a straightened, Euro-centric look that follows society's typical standard of beauty.
But it's not until she begins to embrace her natural self that she finds true happiness and learns self-love. For me, that didn't come until the latter part of my college career, and it's still something I have to work on. There's nothing more restrictive and exhausting than constantly feeling like you have to hide a part of who you naturally are. It's absurd that so many women of colour feel as if they'll never be seen as beautiful simply because of their hair texture. But Nappily Ever After reminded me that it doesn't matter what other people have to say. Confidence is beauty, and if that means wearing a wig, braids, or your natural hair, then, honey, rock whatever style you want, as long as it's for your own happiness and self-gratification.