I am thankful for these lessons:

• The value of consistency: being consistent with a healthy natural routine taught me that little efforts pile up and bring great rewards.

• The value of resilience: even though being natural is now more common, not everyone gets it. Some people can’t possibly understand why you wouldn’t want to relax your hair; especially when your hair is ‘hard’. I had to learn how to keep going despite comments and reservations people had with my hair. I also learnt how to keep going even when my hair was giving me a hard time.

• The value of acceptance: being natural taught me to accept me and everything that came with being me.  It taught me to make the best of what I had, to get where I wanted to go. I learnt that to be the best version of myself, I first had to accept myself.

I am thankful for how far the natural industry has come. Now, there’s so much natural hair information out there, so many products and tools; and now, more natural hair salons are popping up. There’s still a long way to go. However, the future looks bright for the natural hair movement.

I am thankful for natural hair content creators; especially the ones on YouTube. I learnt so much about black hair care from them and they inspired me and kept me motivated. This experience made me really value YouTube. I began to see it as place where I could learn stuff for free basically. It wasn’t just a place where I’d find entertainment.

I am thankful for the experience of seeing first hand that black hair can grow and be beautiful. I am thankful that black hair isn’t seen as just something to be fixed anymore, but as something to be understood and cared for accordingly.

I am thankful for the fact that through the experience of being natural, I feel like I have valuable information to share with people. I feel like I can make my little contribution in life.

I am thankful for the natural hair community; for the fact I am not alone in this natural thing. I am thankful for the fact that I’m part of a community where each member is just trying to share helpful information; a community where naturals can just relate with each other.

Lastly, I am thankful for the fact that there are still aspects of caring for my hair I haven’t figured out. This means there’s still room for me to overcome challenges, grow and learn.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Warm Wishes,

                                                                                                            Eno.