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Black Women Essay In high school I have always worked to get what I want and need I have been working my way through high school doing what I can so that I want have to ask my single parent mother for anything. The lesson for me in doing that has showed me that it’s not going to be easy to get what I want. I have been to many different schools and 5 different states and I have experienced a lot of things as I have grown. High school is just the start to going to college or any plans for after high school. My senior year has not been the easiest I’m at a new school again in another state. I left a lot behind in Columbia, SC and now I’m starting over. After high school I plan on going to college to get my BSN/RN degree. I choose this major because for the past few years my grandfather and great-grandfather have been struggling with cancer. My grandfather has always had health problems and since I was a little girl he has told me that I should be a nurse or a doctor so I can take care of him. He has been a major motivation for me to go to college and to pursue my dreams. I choose to write a paper on black women and their hair because Arlidian J. Pearson. - 9333 Old Concord Rd. Unit E Charlotte, NC [emailprotected] com To attend a 4-year college and get a degree and continue to work my way to get to what my dreams are in life. EDUCATION * Vance High SchoolCharlotte, NC 28213September 2012-present3. 3gpa Graduate in June 2013 * A. C. Flora High SchoolColumbia, SC 29209August 2011-May 20123. 1gpa * Richland NortheastColumbia, SC 29209August 2010-May 20123. 0gpa EXPERIENCE/WORK HISTORY * Wendy’sColumbia, SC 29209cashierMay 2011-May 2012 * Run registers * Maintain dining room and restock inventory. * Child Care Columbia, SC 292092010-2012 * Provide child care for several families’ afterschool, weekends and during school vacations. * CosmetologyColumbia, SC 292092010-present * Provide hair care services for several friends and family MEMBERSHIPS/ACHIEVEMENTS * Academic Honor Roll2010-2011 * JROTC-E5 rank2009-2011 * iLink Honors Technology Program2010-2011 VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE/EXTRACURRIULAR ACTIVITES * Breast cancer awareness walk2011 * Homeworks-rebuilding homes for the helpless2010 * Adopt-a-Highway2010 2011 * Student Council2011 LANGUAGE COMPUTER SKILLS * Spanish2010-present. * Can read and write up to level 3 in Spanish * Mac PC * Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel, and Internet * Internet and Word etc. REFERENCES * Jackie HallMentor/Aunt17 years336-862-5054 * Destiny DanielsEx-Coworker2 years919-273-3433 Tyra Banks did a show on African American Women and their hair. She discovered that â€Å"black women spend more money on hair products than any other culture in America. † Black women often face judgment strictly based on their choice of hair styles. Black women are often forced to conform to what â€Å"white America† considers to be â€Å"professional† or appropriate for business. Black women have become accustom to changing who we are to be accepted in a society that has a history of not accepting us. This has led to many of black women having a lack of acceptance of them. Many times other cultures look upon black women with misunderstanding but something as simple as black women embracing their hair completely changes the perception of how others perceive us! Being natural is empowering and most women that I have encountered who are natural seem to have a better understanding of who they are and seem to be more prideful of their heritage. That feeling of empowerment that one feels on the inside is perceived by others. In the Black community, hair that was straight or soft and curly and closely resembles white hair was considered to be â€Å"good hair† and hair that was closely related to African heritage was considered to be nappy hair. This simple perception of good and bad hair has deeply penetrated the black community as a form of self hatrated. It’s not good hair to have straight hair; hair can easily break off with straight hair because of the chemicals put in it. Bad hair is not necessarily nappy, kinky or thick hair, society has put black women in a box to how their hair should look and feel. Even though major increases in daily maintenance are no longer, the days when you can brush your doobie wrap and go. Natural hair is stronger because it can handle chemicals from hair dye better than permed hair and healthier hair that’s not stripped away of natural oils. More and more African American women are beginning to embrace that which is their natural hair. Black women are beginning to whine themselves from the creamy crack, once called â€Å"perm†. Black women are now feeling empowered to be Naptural! As a black woman growing up in a black household my mother taught me that the best me is the real me and with that came my natural hair. Without your hair being what â€Å"they† want it to look like and not trying to be what the people at school wear their hair like or the people in that big corporate office see your hair as. People are influenced by what the people around them look like. When I look around I’m proud to say that I may wear a weave or I have my hair covered up by someone else’s hair(not actually) but it’s not because I don’t love my hair it’s because I tried to fit in with the straight look that now I have damaged unhealthy hair. When someone walks in a room, what is the first thing you see? Their hair right, if their hair doesn’t look how it should or it’s not up to par the first thing that pops into mind is if you chose not to talk to that person or be their friend right. If you don’t think so then think about when someone walked into the room what was the first thing that popped into your head, I was right you looked directly at the hair, head or face you noticed that you wasn’t going to communicate with that person because of what’s sitting on their shoulders. John W. Fountain from suntimes. com says â€Å"If I were Gabby’s daddy, I’d tell her, â€Å"You are beautiful just the way you are — whether your hair is in gel and bobby pins, whether thick or thin, or fashioned in woolen locks, or trimmed in a short natural, or even in two big Afro puffs. † I’d tell her, â€Å"Girl, you’ve got the right stuff! † If I were Gabby Douglas’ daddy, I’d tell her, â€Å"You can be happy with your hair nappy. † I’d tell her that it’s not what’s on her head but what’s inside her head and heart that matters. That your hair was made by your creator, fashioned from DNA that makes you uniquely you. That your hair is beautiful the way it sprouts at its roots from your head. That black hair is not a curse but your blessing. That something as minuscule as hair is not the sum of you. † This is just a reference to how somebody that can go as far as the Olympics at age 16 and win multiple gold medals be criticized about her hair. This just shows how much hair can be a deal breaker making people around see that even though you are the best at what you do, it doesn’t change how people see you in appearance. Natural Women. Black women these days are discovering that their own natural hair is the best hair its free bouncy full and all of the things a women works so hard to get. Some black women feel as though they are getting back to their natural roots and some like the fact that’s its less maintenance and a quick and easy 5 minutes in the bathroom and go. With natural hair you can wear your hair straight or curly. Black women are taking control of their hair and saying that my hair is beautiful and I love it. The fact that as a women hair is cherished it’s the thing that makes the makeup or the outfit just go WOW. Not all women may see it as that though some women may just be more environmental friendly and know that the chemicals that they was putting in their hair was killing their hair and causing a lot of long term damage to their hair and body. The effect on your hair with natural hair isn’t the same as if that hair was relaxed the fullness and nice even flow wouldn’t be the same and that’s what a lot of women are after, they want their hair to flow in the wind when they are driving down the highway with the windows rolled all the way down and their favorite song is blasting on the radio. I know I wouldn’t want to be doing that and my hair was stiff and didn’t move when I moved. The one downside to having natural hair is making sure that it is always moisturized the curlier the follicle the drier it can be. With natural hair humidity and weather conditions like rain and snow, don’t change the styling composition of natural hair, so walking in the rain is not something to stress over unless its straight it might just curl up. Relaxed Hair Black women who relax their hair may not be trying to go against their race it just might be their preference to what they like or what they are used to. Some women are scared to go to the natural look because of how long it may take or the fact they may have to cut their hair off. There is nothing to be scared of it’s a transition but at the end of the day if you are patient with yourself and your hair you will be glad you did it. If a person is not educated on the goods and bad of hair and hair products then they may end up sticking with what they know. Relaxers reconstruct the natural hair strands and the texture of the hair. Relaxing your hair may make it more manageable but it has its setbacks. When the bond is broken allowing kinky hair to become straight it weakens the hair follicles. Because of this, relaxed hair is more susceptible to breakage. The chemicals that are made to put into the hair to get it straight are dangerous they can burn the hair and cause major damage to the hair and the body. I have been around when my mother who is natural with locks have walked into a room and women just start asking her questions about her hair because it is different it’s not straight nor curly and they want to know how the transition was for her to take her hair to the level that it is now. How did she get their what was her decision like to get their? Those questions where easily answered by my mother she knew that what she was putting in her hair and her two daughters hair was not the best idea she had seem what the affect from having an over-processed relaxer can do to the hair, her biggest example me, my hair was like relaxer grand central every other month I would get a touch up. At one point my mother decided that she was going to let me go natural and my mother remembers everything about my sister and I so when I was going through my first transition she realized my hair wasn’t as thick and full as it was before I started getting all of the relaxers this was her sign that she didn’t want me to have any more relaxers but she also didn’t know what to do with my hair and putting a lot of heat on the hair isn’t good for the hair either so it was back to the relaxers. That experienced caused her to learn more about the hair and what relaxers are really made of. If you are an educated person and can’t read the ingredients then it shouldn’t go in the hair without some research on what that word means and does to the hair. I can speak all day from a cultural standpoint on being happy and nappy but I also have the professional background to support my opinion. I am less than 100 hours from completing my cosmetology degree and professionally speaking it is not natural for black women to be un-natural. The less black women try to conform the better their experience is as women will be. As the black culture begins to transition from being addicted to those things that â€Å"White America† has used to define us, the more and more empowered black women will be to accepting their Napturality! Works Cited Tyra banks good hair Megami284. What Is Good Hair? Tyra (Part 1). YouTube. YouTube, 17 May 2009. Web. 21 Sept. 2012. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=ZeXUm8OOUA8. Fountain, John W. Why Are African-American Women Criticizing Gabby Douglas Hair? Chicago Sun-Times. N. p. , 8 Aug. 2012. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. http://www. suntimes.com/news/fountain/14336049-452/why-are-african-american-women-criticizing-gabby-douglas-hair. html. Turnquest, Kendra. Natural vs Relaxed Hair. Natural VS Relaxed Hair. Black Hair Media, 31 Jan. 2012. Web. 03 Oct. 2012. http://blackhairmedia. com/naturalcorner/natural-vs-relaxed-hair/. Kwateng, Danielle. Madame Noire | Black Womens Lifestyle Guide | Black Hair | Black Love. Madame Noire | Black Womens Lifestyle Guide | Black Hair | Black Love. Madame Noire, 21 June 2010. Web. 06 Oct. 2012. http://madamenoire. com/5805/relaxed-vs-natural-hair-the-great-debate/. GoodHairMovie. Good Hair Ft. Chris Rock- HD Official Trailer. YouTube. YouTube, 31 July 2009. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=1m-4qxz08So. Speech Outline 1. Introduction a. Hook b. Background c. Thesis 2. Body paragraphs d. Statement=topic sentence=research point e. Extension=introduce example (source) f. Elaboration=give the reseachand connect it to thesis explain what it supports/proves about topic g. Clincher=sum up point and lead into next one 3. Conclusion h. Re-connect to introduction(full-circle ending) i. Restate thesis j. Synthesis main points k. Final thought/look to future l. Thanks to audience.