THRIVING Melanin Family Magazine November 2018 | Page 9

WHAT WAS I DOING
WRONG?
So, I started going back through my pictures
from last year and I realized that there was
nothing wrong with my hair. The problem was
with my eyes. My hair has grown. It has grown
tremendously. It went from being about 1/2
inch long on the top of my head to being to
the bottom of my nose when stretched out.
But why couldn’t I see it? Simply because I had
become immune to my own growth. Not only
with my hair but with my life. When I looked
back and saw how the stages of my hair were
a direct reflection of where I was in my life, all I
could do was smile. Because my growth didn’t
appear as I expected, I didn’t see it. I couldn’t
see it. The measuring stick that I had grown
accustomed to for measuring my growth was
no longer effective. I couldn’t see what was not
only put in front of me on a daily basis but
recognized by others as well. My growth was
hidden…at least, it was hidden from me.
SEPT. 2018
DEC. 2017
However, since May of 2017, I went from
working in a toxic environment to changing
jobs with increased pay. I have gone from
feeling that I am too old for my dreams to
come true to living my dreams out loud and
unapologetically. I have gone from being
uncomfortable and embarrassed in my own
skin to loving every nook and cranny of me. It
has been a frustrating process but I’m
unlearning what I have been taught. That’s
growth. That’s tremendous growth.
You see, because in my natural state, I have
exceeded even my own expectations. I’m
unrecognizable because my “new growth”
didn’t look like anyone else’s. The rules that I
had been following all of my life were never
written for me. I’m finally following my own
rules on how to treat my “new growth” and it
feels great!
NOVEMBER
2018 • THRIVE |
7