I've been locked for 9 months and 4 days!

It seems like it's been forever :)

I haven't been blogging much lately because I returned to school full time this semester. Why, oh, why didn't I go straight through the first time? Working full time and a full course load is not easy but I'm going to make it.

The other reason that I haven't been blogging much lately is because... drumroll please... I'm kind of over my hair, just a little bit. Some days I feel like my hair isn't growing (clearly not true, see pic 2 below). I'm at the stage where my locks have puffed up and are almost twice the size that they were when they were first installed. The puffiness is a good thing because it's a sign of progress but... I don't really like it LOL. If I don't wrap my hair at night, I wake up with an unintentional lock hawk & my stupid balls keep falling off. See, this one here is hanging on by a few strings of hair. How are my ends supposed to seal if the balls keep coming off??? *Sigh*


And I need a styling tutorial because my layers that look so cute when rollerset, don't look too fabulous when I freestyle... actually I wouldn't even try to freestyle because it looks like this.
***The following pics are of my freshly washed, desperately in need of a retightening, unfreestylable, but still fabulous locks***



Umm, not cute. Despite all my whining and moaning, I can honestly say that I wouldn't trade this journey for anything and I can't see myself ever going back to a perm. Sometimes I toy around with the idea of being able to rock my loose natural hair, but then I remember how much I hated having to get up early to style my permed hair and I snap back to my senses.

I recently posted a comment on BlackRussian's blog about how Sisterlocks affects wearers and I think it pretty much sums up what I think has been the best and greatest benefit of being a part of the sisterhood for me so here goes:

I think that getting Sisterlocks can have a huge effect on your life. I don't think that I'm going through some sort of massive change or getting more in touch with myself because I am wearing my natural hair in the form of locks. Maybe that is because I can't remember a time where I ever felt that my sense of self was tied to a physical trait... I've always identified myself more by my personality traits and by the things that are important to me (like being very family oriented, loyal, intelligent, and hardworking) than anything else.

Nevertheless I am changing. And I think that those changes and the awareness that I'm feeling now come from being a part of the SL community and being able to share the lives of so many fabulous, positive women who are living their dreams. I don't always comment but I do lurk in all (and I mean all) of the SL blogs LOL. Seeing women like you, Carmen, Ally, and others living their dreams and taking that first step to making it happen by starting a business, taking the plunge and quiting jobs, relocating, etc. was and is so inspiring. And I won't even begin listing those bloggers who are already doing what they love.

I returned to school this year after 7 1/2 years to finish my undergrad studies and am considering relocating for grad school and trying to figure out how to fit a study abroad program in. After "meeting" all of you I'm replacing "I wish I had" or "I wish I could" with plans to make my dreams happen.

Signing off to go set my hair on SoftSpikes. Have a fabulous week!