It's Meet-Up Time!

Today was another Naturally Flyy Detroit Meet-Up!  Every meet-up feels like Christmas to me; I love the anticipation, surprise, and comfort it brings.

This time, I had the honor of being a model in a mini hair & fashion show.  I have never modeled before, so I was a little nervous.  Since I'm a dancer, I tried to convince myself that it would be like dancing...only slower...yeah...

Anyway, this is what I had on.  I was demonstrating corporate attire.  The outfit included a brown & yellow pencil skirt, brown belt, & brown knee high boots.

As usual, I picked up some great finds.  I purchased two sets of earrings from Shionne Design and some hair jewels from Mo Williams.  I was especially geeked about the earrings b/c I have always wanted peacock earrings AND I now have some Tigers spirit wear the next time my school celebrates the Detroit Tigers!

I don't have much else to say, other than it's always a blessing to be in the company of like-minded people. I just want to share beautiful pix of the event & fantastic, unique styles that stood out to me. Thank God I'm Natural!!! :-)

Celebrations!!!

I'm currently in a state of euphoria because I just found out I am a recipient of a $1200 grant for my classroom in the fall! WOW! :-D Thank God!

Anyway, while I'm in this upbeat mood, I have a couple other things that I'd like to take the time to celebrate.

1. Many thanks to Dominique on All Things O'Natural!  Last week, she featured my story on her blog.  You can read about it by clicking here.  Thank you to those who have come over or joined this blog after reading my story there.

2. I have been finding only a little amount of hair in the hair catcher when I have been washing my hair lately!  This is exciting to me because I really wanted to work on length retention this summer.  I attribute a lot of my success to sealing my ends with castor oil after I cowash.

3. The Naturally Flyy Meetup group had their one year anniversary last week, with appx. 500 in attendance!  How cool is that?

The theme of this meeting was "Faces, Fro's & Funk," so I decided to switch it up from my usual twist styles to an asymmetrical 'fro.

My ace-boon Michelle & I at the end of the meetup

I love going to the meetups because there is so much positive energy.  Everyone is celebrating each other's hair & just showing love.  It's beautiful.

Since it's warmer & the weather is nice, we got to use all of Artist Village.

See, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!  Natural sistahs showin' love! BEAUTIFUL!

I was approached by Satincurls2011 & LamonicaD and asked to take a picture of my hair!  I was delighted.  Make sure y'all go & check out their youtube pages.

And for more of a close up...

Looking forward to more celebrations in the last days of summer to come! :-)

Accepted, Affirmed, and...ACCESSORIZED!!!

Last night some of my girlfriends & I attended the Naturally Flyy Detroit Meet-Up #5 at Sweet Potato Sensations in Artist Village.  It was a time of celebration of natural hair, networking, & panel q&a.  I felt SO BLESSED to be amongst like-minded sisters and brothers who have embraced natural hair care.  My only regret is that I forgot my camera!  When I got in my car to go home, the three words I came up with to describe my experience were: accepted, affirmed, & accessorized.

Accepted
I think a few of my closest friends knew about a period of about 3 mos. this past winter/early spring that I refer to myself as "The Dark Night of the Soul."  It was a season of my life where I kept trying to figure out what was "wrong" with me & why I am 27 and still not married.  At one point I even questioned if wearing my hair natural was why I haven't been on a date in a HOT second.  Most of my friends who are married are not natural and a few had encouraged me to "just get your hair pressed."  I've been natural for 5 years.  But in February, I got my hair pressed for the first time in AGES.  And relationally, it got me nowhere.  After 2 weeks, I went back to being natural.

What I had to learn, and what was expressed yesterday by several gentlemen (on the panel & in the audience) is that it isn't the hair that makes you, but the confidence within.  I had worked really hard after undergrad to build my confidence, but somewhere along the way, I let all my hard work unravel.  Being in a room full of naturals (and their supporters) built my confidence in my decision to be natural, as well as to accept and love my decision.

Affirmed
From the moment I pulled into the parking lot, 'til the moment we left, I was affirmed.  The security team not only helped us park, but walked us to and from the venue.  When we entered into the meet-up we were greeted by gentlemen who had nothing but positive things to say about our hair.  All of us even received a wonderful poem, which in all honesty I didn't read until this morning while I was digging through my purse at church.  The poem, "Perfectly Beautiful (Just as You Are!)" made me feel so good, not just to be natural, but to be a BLACK woman.

I live and work in the suburbs, so most of the admirers of my natural hair are my middle-aged/senior, caucasian co-workers or my adolescent students.  While I appreciate their comments, it just doesn't feel the same as when brothers & sisters my own race and age complement me on my hair and affirm my decision.  I definitely left full & feeling like the queen that I am.

Accessorized
Ok, so, I am going to start putting aside money every pay period so that when I go to the next meet-up (July 30), I can have PLENTY of spending money!  There were so many neat things that I wanted to buy, but could only get a few.  I picked up a "Thank God I'm Natural" Shirt (w/ complimentary tote) and a clip from OMSoul.  Next time, I want to get some earrings from Created in His Image.

All in all, a great time, & I CAN'T WAIT for the next meet-up!