prettypithy

Wow, when I wrote this goal roughly five years ago, I was a recent college graduate working for an art gallery, making peanuts and spending irresponsibly. Although I’m still working my way out of debt, I have made great strides. I have increased my income, learned to manage my debt load, reduced my discretionary spending and increased my savings. Most importantly, I have learned a lot about personal finance and how to meet my own financial goals. Overall, it seems the passage of time and the application of common sense values have helped me to achieve this goal. I have not had to ask my family for financial assistance with bills in almost two years. In my mind, that means I have met this goal!

12 years since I first became eligible, I finally obtained my driver’s license. And it changes everything. I see now, the extent to which I was sometimes dependent on others to go places and do the things I wanted to do. The world feels a little more wide open now. And I feel utterly victorious and excited to explore it on my own terms.

On February 8th, 2011, I cut off the final few inches of relaxed hair and completed my 18 month transition to natural hair. I feel this is a huge step towards finding that permanently flattering hair style.

It hasn’t been easy so far. I alternate between wearing my hair in buns, twists and twist-outs. My hair is fickle and I cannot just will it to look its best. But it is so healthy, so soft and so me. I know that whatever hair style I finally settle upon, it will be chemical free. The temptation to relax or texturize is ever present but I told myself I would give this some time.

It is not difficult or time consuming to manage my hair in its natural state. But it can be discouraging because I’ve always preferred to wear my hair “down” and now my hair seems to be permanently “up.” I have to coax it down through stretching, braiding, twisting, etc. It wants to point skyward. There is also the challenge of how this hair will suit me professionally. I’m willing to temporarily straighten it with heat, if it comes to that. But I’m still hopeful that I can find a “permanently flattering” natural style—one that will look more or less the same each day and requires no more than 10-20 minutes of daily effort. I’m getting closer to this goal!