About hair....but not about hair

So...I've been interviewing for the last couple of months or so - my baby Dede just turned 3 and my tiny newborn Ami is 7 months old now - where did the time go?!  Aside from the guilt of not staying home until they graduate from university and the guilt of being a tiny bit excited about going back to work (posts for another day??), the interview process hasn't been too onerous.  Anyway I digress.

I have been dipping in and out of wearing my hair natural over the last 10 years or so.  Last year I did the big chop and now wear my hair short and natural.  You may have guessed by now that I'm a BWWAH (black woman with Afro hair).  Over the last 2 months I have found it absolutely necessary to change my hairstyle for interviews as of course natural hair does not come across as very PROFESSIONAL.  Because you just don't know what types of unconscious biases people out there have.  Because I may not give the right vibes with my hair in its most natural state.  How can I come across as intelligent and competent.  Yes - these are all thoughts that I had to admit to myself that I was thinking.

Anyway fast forward to last week...I got an interview request at very short notice and didn't have time to change my hairstyle.  Well I got the job with my NAH (natural Afro hair). It got me thinking...do I project these opinions on myself?  Is it really about hair?  Should I really care about how an Afro in the workplace is viewed by some?  Are black women unconsciously taught not to like our hair?  After all Michelle Obama was photographed wearing her hair au naturel AFTER leaving the White House.  

Perhaps we can have more confidence wearing our hair however we choose, and not project negative views of our hair on ourselves.  Perhaps we can spread more positive images of hair to the younger generation and it may become their norm.  And not let hair define us.  And be proud of our crown.  And let our other attributes speak for us - our generosity, our love for others, our spirituality, our competence, our genuineness and whatever it is that make us tick and be unique.  And feel free to wear our "natural" hair, or shall I say whatever feels natural to us.  Be it your 16 inch weave, wearing your hair in its natural colour, or for me, wearing my natural tresses.  The style that makes us feel most empowered.  Perhaps it doesn't matter how we wear our hair and it doesn't define us.