Ericka writes:
Dear Nikki,
This is Erika. Your new friend. The one who finally began wearing her real hair after 5.5 years of weave, wigs and scarves.
Well, in addition to unveiling the real me–guess what else I did this summer? I learned to swim!
Actually, it’s funny that these two events happened within weeks of each other. Lesson learned? I can’t let my hair hold me back!
After three weeks of swimming lessons at my local YMCA, I took my first strokes on my 32nd birthday! But my excitement about fulfilling my life-long dream was slightly dampened after about 10 days. Even though I’d taken all the measures recommended to protect my hair, it was starting to look and feel different. The dreaded chlorine! For a whole half a day I thought about cutting my daily swimming practice down to once a week.
But then I was enlightened!
I needed to not let my hair hold me back! No matter what it took (I eventually learned it was a combination of products, satin caps and head wraps) I needed to keep swimming!
My hair is an accessory to my life–not the other way around. I started to think about all of the water-related things I’ve never done because of a concern for my hair. I’d never swam, enjoyed a water park with my family, been in a water balloon fight, or sang in the rain. (One must not go through life without singing in the rain!)
So Nikki, I am proud to say that I not only brought you a problem–the hair vs chlorine challenge–but also my solution!
With each passing day I am enjoying my new hair more and more. But what’s even better is that I am enjoying my life in total. So far this natural hair thing is a swimming success!
