Bald Headed Beauty

The other day I went to the store to buy a pack of cigarettes for my sister and the clerk carded me. I showed him my Driver License and the man said to me, "The person in the picture is not you." I replied, "Why would you say that?" He then had the audacity to say to me, "The person in the picture has hair!" You know I responded sarcastically - "What you trying to say, that I'm bald headed?" Well you know that threw him for a loop. He took his foot out of his mouth to quickly fix the statement and said, "No your not bald headed - there are not many people who can rock that hair style and get away with it." I left the store a bit perplexed because I thought "get away with it" - What the heck is that supposed to mean? Furthermore, why do people always say stupid stuff like that when they are uncomfortable or are too drugged up on the look that creamy crack gives black women to see the beauty of their own heritage. We didn't always relax our hair! Moreover, I think (and I may not be right) this started so that Caucasians would find us more pleasing to the eye. Somebody even told me that I had the head for a natural doo! Does that mean that someone with a bigger head than me is S.O.L.???? This got me to thinkn' (you know I had to use improper English on this one). Are we so subconsciously vain that we (I mean us women) have become so defined or dependent upon our tresses rather than what our own natural beauty brings to the table? I must admit that after cutting my hair I noticed so much more about my facial features. I began to see that I love the freckles on my face that show when the sun shines on my face ever so gently or the moles that seem to become more and more prominent as I age or even my lips that have a slight turn and pout which makes me feel sexy (thanks to my lip gloss - which is popin'!). These are the things that define my beauty. It my hope that all women - natural or relaxed - find their definition of beauty as well. I have come to realize that even women with long hair have deficiencies. I can remember as a young girl putting a scarf on my head as if it was my own hair and thinking "Now this is real beauty". But I was disillusioned. Real beauty is understanding and being comfortable in your own skin and sharing that ray of sunshine with each person you encounter. Like Ms. India Arie says, "I am not my hair" (as I sing in my best shower voice) In other words everyone has their own joule that makes them shine and it's not locked into a bag of weave or a bald head - it's your curves, your smile, and your swagger that makes you a joule of a beauty! Toodles and Kisses!