HAIR

When I started my photo series project I wanted to focus on how my hair has
always been a critical part of my identity. But looking back on the beginning of middle school until the end of high school it was obvious that I was always trying to change my hair to fit other people's standards, thus making my identity not my own. I didn’t like the way my hair looked when it grew naturally so I spent every weekend flat ironing until my hair was irreparably heat damaged and I had to cut all of it off. When my hair started to grow back, I started hiding how it looked naturally again by putting it in braids and I used the braids as a shield to hide behind. When I decided that I didn’t want to hide behind my braids anymore, I was very nervous because the only thing that I was thinking about was what other people thought about my hair. The realization that I should be creating my own standards instead of being restricted to the standards of others seems obvious and simple, but it turned out to be much easier said than done. I’m still working on creating my own standards for my hair, but when I think about my hair
now I feel much more confident knowing that the beauty of my hair is mine to declare and its value is not determined by others.