Braid Envy

Hello Lovelies. My name is Jordan Nicole. These days it seems that the entire world has gone braid crazy. Everywhere I look I see a chunky, thick braid. Now I won't deny that I am completely on board with the braid obsession. I am fully a part of the braid club. The only problem with this is that since September I have cut off about 16 inches of hair. That doesn't leave me with much to play with. Braid require a lot of hair. I mean half of the tutorials I see on them require some form of extensions. I don't have the money for that and honestly I don't think that they could blend with my short hair at this point.

Braids are gorgeous and if I could I would have some different, fun one in my hair every day. The reality is that my short hair stops that from being possible. I absolutely post a thousand pictures of braids on my Tumblr in an attempt to satisfy my braid cravings. I need an outlet for my love after all.

I am sad that I can't participate in the obsession with my own hair but it was so healthy for me to cut my hair off. I was so dependent on my hair to feel pretty that it just wasn't good for my self esteem. Pretty hair is not the only good thing I have to offer and actively having that mindset needed to change. I used to claim that I wasn't pretty, I just knew how to hide behind my hair well. It is sad to think about. I am so much more than my hair and cutting it short was a huge step for me. If growing as a person and obtaining more self esteem by cutting of my hair means that I don't get to have gorgeous braids then I think I'm alright with that.

Ultimately I'm not sure why I am so jealous of long hair and voluptuous braids because in all reality less than six months ago I had hair to my waist and, guess what, I was completely useless with it. I tried and tried to do braids but I am just inept in the hair department. I can straighten my unruly curls and I can sometimes manage putting a real curl in my hair. I always thought my long hair was waisted on me because I couldn't do anything with it. Maybe some day I will grow my hair back out and suddenly develop a talent with hair. In the mean time, my hair is short and I'm going to rock it. Braid free and all.

That doesn't mean I can't sit and admire all of the gorgeous braids out there. Hopefully without any jealousy.

I'm not there yet, but I'm on my way.