The Adventures of Having Curly Hair

If you have curly hair, know someone with curly or have seen a random stranger with curly hair,
this blog post is for you.
 
The purpose of this post?
For those will curly hair: to empathize with, to share a heart-to-heart and to simply bond with.
For those acquainted with a curly-haired individual: to help you understand your friends better, to give you further detail into methods in which you may assist your friends and to help you to appreciate your hair.
For everybody else who has seen curly hair: to inform you on this topic (since you obviously need further information about it), to provide an anthropological analysis on the curly-haired population and simply to entertain you (cause who doesn't find other people's problems funny?)

If you reside within the first category of individuals reading this post, you may be asking yourself "Am I the only one who has such interesting experiences due to my untamed hair?"
I am here to tell you: no. No you are not.
If you find yourself in the latter two categories, maybe you're asking yourself, "What is it like to experience such craziness?"
I am here to further develop your understanding and to culturally enrich your senses.

Now, let's dive into our fine specimen of a topic.

It is a known fact, that curly hair contains some sort of magnetic component which forces food and drink to leap onto the hair, tangling itself within the web of curls. The case usually grows with the growing of the hair- the longer the hair, the more magnetic the bond between the hair and the food.
Example: Eating bread usually results in a mass amount of crumbs residing within the hair. Eating soup usually results in drippings of liquid on the tips of the hair. Eating bananas usually results in bananas just hanging out in the hair.
To the curly-haired individual: When eating, please tie your hair up. It will prevent any magnetic forces from publicly humiliating you, conquering your ego or simply just dirtying your hair.
To the friend: If your curly-haired friend has forgotten some sort of hair-tying contraption, please resort to holding your friend's swirly locks back for them as they attempt to eat their meal. Otherwise, simply keep an eye on them as they dig into their nutritious (I should hope) dish.
To the random by-stander: Have a video camera ready (this may apply for the friend as well).

Only a rainy day, the adventures dramatically increase. It is common knowledge that rain holds a life-long grudge against curly hair. If it rains, curly hair will pay. How? The beautiful term "frizz" comes to mind. Why? Because rain can. Rain thinks to itself, "This girl has curly hair.. how about we multiply her curls into millions of little, unattractive curls that make her look like a lioness on the prowl? What a brilliant idea, self!"
To the curly-haired individual: I am sorry. The only advice I can think to bestow upon you is LOTS of gel. Or mousse. And just don't waste your time straightening your hair. Umbrellas do nothing. Hoods can work if squeezed tightly around head, creating the whole "hoodlum effect."
To the friend: Be kind to your friend and don't laugh at them in a public place. We realize our hair is uncontrollably large and extra curly and do not need to be informed. Also, if you have a hat on hand or some sort of... disguise (for your friend), you know what to do.
To the random by-stander: Be gracious and don't judge. It's not just a bad hair day- it's a rain day. Nothing could be done, and your understanding would be greatly appreciated.

The curly-haired individual does not manage their hair; the curly-haired individual is managed BY their hair. Everyday is different. Some days the hair decides that it will appease its owner and look presentable, while other days result in tears and frustration.. and eventually a pony-tail. People wonder why women are moody.. well, when your hair is bipolar, that tends to influence a woman. The hair has a mind of its own. It curls. It waves. It flattens. It poofs. It frizzes. It flips awkwardly. It falls nicely. It just falls. It plops. It gets stuck on facial features (noses, ears, eyebrows, lips.. etc).
Curly hair does what it wants and it won't be told otherwise.

I'm sure there's more to be said about curly hair... but I'm tired, so this is ending.
Goodnight, curly-haired and straight-haired folks alike! Let us all live peaceably with our differences!

We'll all float on, all right

So, I'm not going to lie- it's been really hard keeping up blogging this semester. I can't say that I'm sick of writing, per say, but I can say that my news-writing class has drained the living daylights out of me. Along with just having no free time. Whatsoever.

Lately, it's almost like I've been floating... through school work, friends, family, leadership, my relationship with God and just life. Do you know what I mean though? Floating.
That whole, "I'm just getting through it all, not really remembering any of it and wondering what's happening next" thing. That's what's going on right now.
Half of it has to do with the fact that I have a head cold, which definitely affects my ability to focus and retain information. The other half is just weariness, I think. Sickness + weariness = oh man.

I do have to say that I am so extremely thankful for my relationship with Jesus Christ. I don't know how people do life without Him. It'd be miserable. It's so easy to feel very alone in this world, but if people really understood the essence of having a relationship with God, it would be impossible to be lonely.

I guess I've been over-thinking everything lately (which is what usually happens every September. I'm not sure what it is about September, but I always end up thinking about everything and anything and thinking about it for way too long). My major has been discouraging me, especially since I'm surrounded by so many talented writers and professors who assume we're already professional reporters with buckets of experience (neither of which are true). My amateurism can be slightly discouraging and even more overwhelming, but I'm trying to learn as much as possible and soak in any information that I can possible soak in. Unfortunately, since I'm in this whole "floating" stage, that's making everything all the more difficult.
My life.. I mean, who even knows what's happening tomorrow, let alone their lifetime? How am I supposed to know what to learn or where I'm going in life? Here I am, floating, and everyone else seems to be moving on (ya know, that "Wow, all of my friends are dating, engaged, married or having babies. how exciting" point in life. I'm sure you've been there).

Floating is so blah, but I guess it's another phase of life. It's bound to happen and when it does, we just have to enjoy the ride (cause I mean, who doesn't want to experience defying gravity?).

In the words of Modest Mouse, "We'll all float on, all right."

Unrequited Love

To be completely honest, the position of RA has quickly (and easily) sunk me into a place of loneliness. To constantly pour love and care into everyone else but not be loved and cared for in return can become extremely draining, especially when that is expected to be the norm for you. I think I understand now what it's like to be a mom.

I know I'm not a mom and don't truly know what it all consists of, but I have been thinking about how amazing mothers are- mine in particular. Just like the position I'm in now, mothers are expected to love and to give. As a child, I always just assumed my mother would cook meals for me, help me with whatever it is I needed help with at the exact moment I needed help, love me when I needed to be loved and listen to all of my problems. Even throughout my teenager years and early adulthood I've had this sort of mindset- until this week. It's a painful thing to be put under those expectations and yet not receive any of those same luxuries in return. Maybe this is overly sentimental, but I truly appreciate my mother now. Mom, thank you for loving me and taking care of me even when you were the one who needed to be loved and taken care of. You are genuinely a priceless jewel.
On a grander scale, I think I've been starting to hit the surface of understanding God's love for us. How hurt he must be when He unconditionally loves us and ultimately sacrificed everything so that we could be set free for something we didn't deserve and don't appreciate.

Salvation. So incredibly under-appreciated.

Jesus, thank you for loving me even when I don't live my life in a way that loves you. I can't even fully comprehend the love that Jesus Christ has for us, but I think He's teaching me the basics of His love. Unrequited love. One-sided sacrifice. Care that is given and not received.

So to actually get to my point...  
Jesus Christ did not love expecting something in return.
Jesus Christ came to love and save because He is GOOD.
Jesus Christ healed, but didn't expect anyone to dab his gruesome, bloody wounds after He was beaten and nailed to a cross.
Jesus Christ just LOVED. He just did, because that's who He is.
Jesus ministered to people because He felt compassion, not because He expected them to care when He was hanging on a tree for their sins and abandoned by all of his friends.
He knew how He would be treated in the end. He knew, and yet He still LOVED and CARED.

As believers, we are not called to love with expectations. We are just called to LOVE.
We are not called to care for others so that maybe in some alternative universe others would also care for us. We are just called to CARE. We're not called to expect, but to pour out. I am not responsible for the way anyone else loves (or lacks love), but I am, however, responsible to fulfill what Christ calls me to do.
Love won't always be reciprocated and care won't always be requited, but that's ok.
The only one who can truly fill us up is Jesus Christ, and that's thing- He always does. We are never in it alone. Ever. We never have to love out of our own strength, because HE is our strength. Without Him, we know no love.

Jesus Christ is our endless supply of love.