🩺 Scrub In: The Motivated Med Life

It’s Sunday morning again, and as I was getting ready, I found myself frustrated with my hair. Like so many things in my life, medical school, dieting, exercise, spiritual health, my natural hair has been its own long journey toward love and acceptance.

Growing up, my mom often relaxed my hair before braiding it because I was “tender-headed.” Eventually, we realized relaxers weren’t for me (they irritated my scalp), so we switched to braiding my natural hair. By high school, I decided on a big chop because I wanted to try something new. But before the school year ended, I was back to braids. There was nothing wrong with that; it was a tried-and-true method that made managing my hair easier.

Still, I longed to feel confident and beautiful wearing my natural hair. In college, I kept up with braids, even making trips from Iowa back home to Chicago just to get them done, until I finally learned to braid my own. During my master’s program in public health, I experimented with wearing my natural hair in a short high bun because I didn’t think my hair looked good in a low bun. Later, while working and reapplying to medical school after not being accepted the first time, I went for a big change: I chopped my hair into a short afro. That moment was both liberating and challenging.

Wearing my hair short forced me to wrestle with my ideas of beauty, confidence, and care. I dreamed of one day growing my hair down my back, and I spent hours watching natural hair care videos, trying oils, and testing routines. Over time, I began mixing it up, sometimes wearing my natural hair out, other times braiding it as a protective style.

And I’m still learning. Days like today remind me that appreciating my natural hair is a lifelong process. I recently saw a YouTube short where a Black woman said she was on a spiritual journey to wear her natural hair for a full year. My immediate response was: Amen, me too.

This morning, as I fussed over how quickly my cornrows were frizzing, my mom reminded me that it’s just my natural hair and that it’s healthy. That reminder grounded me. My journey is ongoing, but my hope is that when I carry myself, I do so with love, grace, acceptance, and maybe even a little flair, enough to encourage others to love themselves and their hair, wherever it’s at, however long it is.

So I’ll leave you with some questions:
Do you struggle to love your hair?
What are your hair goals?
Would you be interested in hearing more about my hair care routine or how I use yarn braids?

I know this blog primarily focuses on my journey through medical school and beyond but (polling the auidience) is there any interest in talking about other things that sometimes  affect the journey like self-love and navigating being human?

Let me know in the comments