I Liken My Natural Hair Journey to My Vegan-hood Journey

A few weeks ago, a non-vegan friend ans I had lunch at this vegan spot called the Chicago Diner. (OMG! It is so good.) I love this friend because she is very open to my lifestyle and willing to try things with me. She enjoyed her meal and even had a vegan milkshake…and I can tell you it was decadent. (Though I will NOT admit to trying it!) I was telling her, I wish more people would be open to trying this lifestyle before judging it…because the food is so good that you don’t even miss the meat and dairy. People just have a thought of what it MIGHT taste like and what they MIGHT be missing out on if their meal doesn’t have meat or cheese in it. As much as I try and tell people that my diet is tasty and very fulfilling, I still get blank stares of “yeah right!”

But then my girl, who has an awesomely big natural afro, touched on something. She said that many black women feel the same way about going natural. I know many of us natural chicks hear the same statements over and over:

• It looks good, on you but I could never do that.
• You have that “good” grade of hair.
• I would not know how to style it.
• I would not have that many styling options.
• Girl, I cannot give up my relaxer!
• My hair is too nappy.

But just like the people having the misconceptions about my vegan diet, black women have the same misconceptions about natural hair…(in my opinion, of course)…especially if they have never actually had any contact with their natural hair outside of “fixing” it and immediately ridding themselves of their “kitchen.”

On both accounts…my diet and my hair…I have had such a diverse journey up to this point. My hair is hardly ever the same. And I am constantly getting compliments from both men and women. And whenever one of my non-vegan friends or family members indulges me and has some of my food or goes to a restaurant of my choosing, they like it. I have never had anyone throw a fit at how nasty it was or because they missed meat. It is mainly that people are not willing to try what they don’t know.