For me, dreadlocks were less a matter of chasing a hairstyle I'd always wanted to a desire for having my long hair again. I grew up with long hair--my mother didn't let me cut it so I experienced some pretty awful hair days for a while and defintely very awkward hair moments. I do, however, think there's something appealing about long hair. It looks good to me but because I'm mixed, long hair was always an issue. My mother was fond of vaseline as a hair product.

When I got older I began straightening it, both physically and chemically, and I liked that a lot. Growing up in suburbia, the general idea of attractive was that norm and my hair was more "party store afro" when I let it be. Although I liked the look of it aesthetically, it was a time-consuming and expensive process. Beyond that, I always had dandruff and scalp burns. My hair was just not happy.

Recently, I've been trying to go natural. I needed to come to peace with my heritage, even though a large part of it came from a mother I was never comfortable with. I grew out an afro and (to my suprise) it looked good. Not only that, the dandruff I'd had for years left with some less stringent washing routines and became softer than it had been in years. I started growing out my afro because I missed long hair but realised that there's only a finite amount one can go with that hairstyle.

Dreads became my solution. They were a long hairstyle that could grow indefinitely. I also began looking through Hindu philosophies and though Shiva, found added beauty to locks. To connect my hair with the image of the Ganges spilling over half-opened eyes was a joyful one, and my desire became concrete.

My journey began about a week ago on 1/26/13, here's hoping it continues for many years to come.