it's the little things...and some hair tips

It's been a while since I've blogged.
This summer is shaping up to be a very interesting one.
I am especially excited about my upcoming 30th birthday (July 24)!!!

Sometimes, when we're in conversation with people, we should really pay attention and hear the revelation behind some of the "little things" that are said.
This week, I was in conversation with several friends and I thought about a few small nuggets of wisdom that stuck with me.
I want to share one of them with you...then at the end of this post, I'm going to post some hair tips for those of you who've been asking me about products and styles.

1. "You are your people." I was with a friend of mine in DC visiting family and as we left, a young lady told my friend "have your people call my people" and my friend responded, "have your people call my people," and the young lady said, "you are your people."

What this says to me is that instead of trying so hard NOT to be like our family or trying so hard to be JUST like our family, we should see our family for who they are and accept what is good for us. Anything that doesn't really line up with who we are as individuals, we should just take it as it is. Much of who we are is attributed to the influences in our lives. Sometimes we allow those influences to shape us TOO much, thus we don't ever really know who we are. We simply become replicates of our mom or dad or uncle or aunt or favorite cousin. However, our family members had their own journeys and they each had to determine the best way for them to go in their lives. Some of our family members would even admit that if they had've had more courage to step out in some areas, they would've made different decisions. True joy in life comes when you're walking in faith trusting God to lead YOU in the direction YOU must go. Your journey is not someone else's. Yes, we are our people, but we are also so much more. We are human. We are spiritual. We are water. We are light. We are so much more complex as individuals than just a few categories or some socioeconomic status label attached to "our people."


HAIR TIPS:
Several people have asked me what products I use on my hair and what styles I usually wear.
My favorite style right now is the twist out.
I like this style because it's simple and it lasts for a while.
Plus, once it gets "old" it makes a really cute curly fro!

Products I use:

- To cleanse my hair, I use Paul Mitchell Tea Tree shampoo and conditioner or Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla Shampoo/Conditioner and Leave-In conditioner
(I shampoo my hair every other week and I do a "conditioning wash" sometimes twice/week) - A conditioining wash is when you "wash" your hair with only conditioner...not shampoo. Sometimes shampoos will dry out your hair too much.

- For my twists-outs and daily curl definition, I use Miss Jessie's Curly Buttercreme and Baby Buttercreme
Because my hair is naturally curly, after I wash it, I will put the curly buttercreme on it and then use the diffuser on my hair dryer to "set" the curls in.
This makes my curls last a little longer without getting frizzy from the elements outside.
I've also tried Kinky Curly Curling Custard.
I like this product, however, it makes my hair a little hard because it is a natural hair curling "gel" product.

- For moisture I use Raw Shea Butter (melted to an "oil" and rubbed into my scalp and hair)

I am learning how to do more with my hair, so as I learn about new styles and products, I will post!