Men are Allowed...

Yesterday, I was talking to two male friends (De'Von and Jaymar) about their hair.
The topic came up because when I said hello to Jaymar, the very first thing I noticed was his growing hair and facial hair. I asked him about his "bush" and he said that he is going to grow out his hair (scalp and facial) throughout 2011.

When asked why he made that choice, he said he's on some "new things" and when I asked him to elaborate, he mentioned that his hair was becoming a symbol of strength and that he wants to grow it out. I immediately thought about Samson, in the Bible, who's great spiritual and physical strength was because of his vow to never cut his hair. I became excited for Jaymar because I know that if he is looking at his hair in that way, he's going to experience something awesome from the commitment to grow his hair.

So, then De'Von, who is my close friend, jokingly told him that he should contribute to my blog. However, as he thought about what he was saying, he mentioned that he, too, is growing out his hair and he mentioned two reasons that stood out to me, as I reflected on my personal hair journey.

1. He is growing out his hair in order to change the texture of his hair. He wants to bring out his natural curls. He said he feels more like himself when his hair is longer than when he has a short haircut.

2. He feels like he IS on a hair journey because if his hair is growing, he thinks he should be growing, too.

This made me start to think about my hair journey and how much I could relate to what he said. As my hair grew out, I remember working hard to train my hair and cultivate a new texture. As my hair grew, the texture began to change and my natural curl pattern grew out. This was so symbolic of my spiritual transformation at the time as well, because as my hair was changing, so was I. I was changing "back" to my natural state/personality, that I had lost (or relinquished) throughout my marriage.

I was so excited when De'Von mentioned that he feels like maybe he is on a hair journey. His statement about hair growth = personal growth was so awesome because growth has definitely been a benefit of my hair journey. I have grown personally in so many ways and I can attribute much of that to the connection between my spirit and my hair. As my hair grows and changes, so does my character, professionalism, purpose, friendships, relationships, etc.

I'm so excited for De'Von and Jaymar and I plan to check in with them from time to time. Maybe they will even contribute to the blog and share their journeys with some of the men!!!