ANNIE
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As a kid, I had very blonde hair. It was one of those things that became part of my identity as a child, but when I hit high school, my hair started getting darker. During the summer I would still get pretty blonde, so I generally was able to pass off any darker hair as temporary, just because it's winter, whatever. If you asked me to describe my hair, I would have said I was blonde, and even now I would be hard-pressed to say that I have "brown" hair. Was it denial? Maybe? I actually ended up getting half highlights in my hair a couple times in high school. One day during my junior year, a classmate called me a brunette, and I got mad. Probably irrationally so. But for some reason it was really hard for me.
When I went to college, I started learning how to take care of my hair–my curls–properly. Because of how curly hair "clumps" together, my hair looks even darker now. That was hard for me too, but I enjoyed my hair becoming curlier and was vibing the "curl acceptance" so I suppose that probably helped with the brunette acceptance too. Most recently I actually used some purple and red dye on my hair, so my hair has gotten darker from that too. Sometimes I have mini crises about regretting it, but I really enjoy experimenting with my hair so I'm not too mad.
When I got into the curly hair community, I saw so many interesting and varied hair journeys and stories and transitions. It's what inspired me to
start this project!
One day in middle school, my class had an "80's dress up" day. I did a look inspired by Sandy at the end of "Grease", including the bouncy ringlets. On a whim, I wrapped my hair around some foam tubes overnight, and when I woke up, I had intense spiral ringlets, bouncy as a spring. And I LOVED it. It made me feel light and powerful. I loved moving around feeling and watching them move. As an actor, I always had a flair for the dramatic, so the big curls and big movement suited me. Not only that, but the curls stayed for a while, even after I washed my hair, so I started wondering if my hair had a natural tendency towards curls.
In college, I learned about the "curly girl/guy" method. I stopped brushing my hair and started using the right products. Figuring out how to actually make them look good has been a journey, and one that I'm still on, but I've grown to love curly hair and how it makes me feel. It even helps my long hair feel more androgynous, even if not everyone sees it that way.