Brain Activity

I've been doing some thinking.

[insert clever joke here]

I am twenty one and have no idea what I want to do for my career.
I know I'm not the only twenty one year old with this issue.
I know people my age change their majors all the time.
My problem?
I have a child.
I have someone who looks up to me and depends on me.
I don't have time to bullshit while I try to figure out my life.

Luckily, I have an incredibly supportive boyfriend and I don't need to work right now.
So being a stay at home mom is fine.
[Plus I wouldn't want anyone else spending this time with Bella.]

But I want to work.
I want to be successful and have a career.
I like feeling productive [outside of the house].

I was going to school for Business Marketing but realized that may not be what I want to do.
So instead of wasting time and money, I'm taking time off to discover what I want.

I have interest in several fields.
So in attempt to modify my options,
I took one of those lame career path tests and this is what it said:

“People with Blue interests like activities that allow them to be creative. This can be through more traditional visual arts, writing or musical pursuits although not limited to these. The creativity is often expressed in thinking of new ideas or strategies that can have a broad range of applications. Blue interests often like thinking about the future and planning for long term benefits. Hobbies include: performing or listening to music, attending theater, storytelling, journaling, decorative arts, painting. Career choices often are: Editor, Journalist, Teacher, Strategic Planner, Consultant, Performing Arts, Marketing, Communications, Research and Development.”

It actually makes complete sense.

All of this describes me.

I'm thinking either cosmetology school, a degree in Communications or Fashion Marketing/Merchandising.

I am artistic yet logical.

I am a people person--In every sense of the phrase. I like talking to people, meeting people, working with people, I love people.

I love clothes, hair, and styling in general.
I cut my mom's hair all the time and gets compliments all the time! I could build clientele just from that bish alone.
A career in clothing? It's more than my love for shopping. I like combining looks and finding what works for who. Learning how to market clothing would be a dream career.

Whatever I decide, it needs to be fast.

I really want to get my shit together because I want to go to school to get a degree [or training] in whatever I choose as soon as I possibly can.

I’m tired of feeling like a loser.

Thankfully, I have Bob Marley to remind me,

Holy Happiness

Guess who got tickets to go to Atlanta?

MEEEEEEEEEE

...and Bella.

Big thanks to Dev and Mama and Daddy :)

I don't think I can explain how happy 

stoked

thrilled 

elated

I am to go home.

And guess what?

One of my very best friends is going to be in town too!

I haven't seen him in sooo long!

 

 I've missed everyone so effing much.

I can't wait to be in weather higher than 42 degrees, 

to see my family,

and go to all my favorite places.

I'm so happy I could pee myself.

(For those who know me, realize it's more than a figure of speech.)

Curly Hair Don't Care

I absolutely love my hair.

But let’s be clear, it hasn’t always been this way. 

Since I was seven [when I started to do my hair]
we’ve had a love/hate relationship. 

We’ve been through everything.
We’ve been to school, prom, cheer leading comps,
 tropical vacays, and New York in the freezing cold.

We’ve been in school pictures and magazines. 

We’ve been stared at in adoration and in disbelief.

We’ve been long and curly,
short and straight, short and poufy, long and straight,
beautiful and just plain ugly.

 

With our long history comes trial and error experimentation.
I can honestly say I’ve tried every type of hair product from 1998 to 2004.

Hair gel. Mousse. Creams. Leave in conditioners. Hair sprays.

You name it, I probably used it. 

For a while, I had tried almost every product of every brand.  

Living in Biloxi, Ms, there weren’t too many hair stylists
 who knew much about African-American/Asian hair.

My hair was confusing. 

The white people just wanted to straighten it and the black people just wanted to braid it. 

No one knew what to do with my hair. 

I was ten, embarrassed and annoyed.

When I was twelve, I got my hair cut by a French woman. 

Two serious problems
1) she knew NOTHING about my hair
 2) I couldn’t understand her. 

Let’s just say I was less than happy and more than willing to send this bitch back to France.

 It was the worst haircut I'd ever had.

I swore that I would never go to a salon again.

And I didn’t.

In seventh grade, my hair was long but seriously damaged from using my $5 straightener
and I knew that I needed much more than a trim. 

So I cut it.

And it didn’t turn out too bad.

I’ve been cutting my own hair ever since.
I guess I took that quote
"If you want something done right, do it yourself"
to another level.

All of this to say I have learned a tip or two about curly hair.

WASHING:
 What to use: 
Since I’m lazy af and don’t feel like doing research, I just switched to baking soda and water.
 [here’s a link for more info]
It cleans your hair, you know exactly what’s in it and my favorite, it’s cheap.
When I do use shampoo, I use this!

It’s been my favorite shampoo so far.

BUY IT

What to do:
Read labels!
I have found this website to help determine which ingredients are harmful.
Only wash your scalp.
The excess shampoo will wash your hair when you rinse.

 P.S. don't forget to use t-shirts instead of towels to dry hair.

CONDITIONING:

What to use:
Like I said, I’ve tried everything but the “product” I like to use is apple cider vinegar.
My hair feels softer and healthier after one use.
 I also use Aussie Three Minute Miracle.
Oh my good hair.
It’s a drugstore find but it makes your hair incredibly soft, less frizzy and more manageable.

BUY IT

 What to do:
 I wash and condition my hair first thing in the shower.
 This way my conditioner sits in my hair the whole time I shower.

 DEEP CONDITIONING:

What to use:
I swear by coconut oil and olive oil.

BUY IT

What to do:
I just put some in my hair, put a shower cap on,
leave it in for fifteen minutes or overnight!
Then wash it out and admire yourself.

STYLING:

What to use:
 My mom bought this for me for Mother’s Day last year.
 BEST GIFT EVER.
In the fourteen years that I’ve been torturing myself styling my hair,
this is by far the best product for curly hair.
I will never use anything else.
 EVER.
You get huge results with little product. And there’s a lot of product.
 It’s inexpensive, smells great and it’s natural!
My curls look defined and hydrated.
 My hair is never crunchy or frizzy.
 I swear by it.
 It's a curly haired girl's dream.

BUY IT

THIS IS MY SHIT.


What to do:
Since we all have a different types of curls, just use as much as you need.
I don't know about you but I used to feel like shit when
 the instructions would say "use a dime size amount".
Yeeeah for my bangs?
I used to have to worry about damping my hair in the a.m.
 only to end up with a frizzball later.
 Talk about annoying.
 With this, I use it at night, twist my hair up in a french bun,
go to sleep. 
No need to wet it in the morning!

STYLING TIPS:

-When hair is damp, take a small section of hair and twist it and leave it. 

Do this all over and when your hair dries, you end up with ringlets! 

It can be time consuming but really works. 

-Sometimes I cheat. 

When I want really defined curls, I use my curling wand. 

Not on all of my hair just the parts that aren't as curly as the rest or if it's frizzy.

 If you use a wand, be sure to use a heat protective spray like this.

BUY IT

 Now go. 

Go werk those natural curls.