Around The Way Girl

She can walk with a switch and talk with street slang / 

I love it when a woman ain’t scared to do her thing / 

Standing at the bus stop sucking/

on a lollipop /

 Once she gets pumping it’s hard to make the hottie stop / 

She likes to dance to the rap jam / 

She sweet as brown sugar with the candied yams / 

Honey-coated complexion/ 

Using Camay /

Let’s hear it for the girl, she’s from around the way….

Jewel is her name….My Alter Ego name that is….

When I thought about writing this post about my new hairstyle, I wanted to come up with the perfect name that would fit my braids. And, what do you know, LL Cool J’s seminal 1990 hit, “Around the Way Girl,” in which he spits these lines about the “cuties in the neighborhood” came to mind. 

I was like yeah bish bring it!

One might say, I’m very versatile when it comes to my hair. I had very long and curly black hair growing up. It stayed that way until I went to high school. I think it was in my sophomore year when I started experimenting with cutting my hair inch by inch when I would go to the salon. Vaguely, I can remember my mother commenting everything time I would come back home. I never denied nor confirmed it but, one thing I knew she wasn’t crazy. I really did not see what the problem was, because she, my aunt and grandmother wore their hair short. Therefore, I figured why can’t I. However, you know  how the saying  goes, don’t do as I do, do as I say. Oh, okay, I would say.

By graduation, I was itching to cut it all off and wear it short. The Anita Baker’s hairstyle was popping back then, and I was dying to try it out. I would say that about a year after graduation, I cut my hair in her hairstyle and loved it. I thought her hair was the bomb back in the day and wanted to be just like her, sassy and all. She was very popular and everyone was sporting her hairstyle.

Throughout my life, I went through many phases of various hairstyles. Lord, I cannot remember all of them. However, I know whatever hairstyle was popular I was wearing it. The hairstylist because of my curly hair would have to use spritz extra hold on it to make it stay in place. I mean I had some of the most ghetto hairstyles and you could not tell me a thing and still cannot, lol. Through the years, I’ve cut my hair, let it grow, cut it, let it grow, bob it, layer it, like I mentioned I’m sure I tried every hairstyle there was back in the day.

Today, however, that phase is gone and I’ve gone back to a short and sassy cut. It is my belief and my personal opinion that when you become older a short and sexy cut is so classy and daring. I know long hair is in but I've been there and done that and don’t have the desire to go back. With my new do I’ve become obsessed with color. I did color it when it was long, however I never did experiment like I am doing with my short hairstyle. My beautician loves me because I can get in her chair and she’ll ask what are we doing today and I’m like I don’t know, whatever. Therefore, we start to experiment. I’m always up for a change, but there is only so far I can go with expressing my true self because of where I work so we stay within boundaries. Take a look at my blonde here, and my two-tone color here, I wasn't blogging when I went a burgundy reddish color. My mom, fiancé or anyone for that matter never know how I’m coming with my color. Hell, the majority of the times I don’t. I do draw the line as of now with blue or purple, lol. But, who knows what the future may bring. I'm at a point in my life, I’m doing me. No boundaries, except for my job. That’s where the change comes in with my Senegalese braids. And, the new alter ego name “Jewel.” 

Let me tell you, after I got home around 10:30 p.m. Monday night of having my braids put in, I could really see them good. So, I’m in the mirror, I see all of this hair and I’m thinking what the hell have I done, lol. I don't know how to style this. I played with it, and played with it. I got on Pinterest and looked at the various styles and attempted to do some of them, HA, epic fail. I was like ain’t this a bish…lol, finally I did a style and was like ok, ok, I like it, and then I put my bonnet on and went to sleep. The next morning I woke up, and took the bonnet off and it was still in place. Baby, I put my make-up on and said aww shit nah. Let me tell ya, let me tell ya, ya girl, was ready…

When I arrived at work that Monday and my boss saw me, she did a back track and looked, I said, Hi, my name is Jewel. HaHaHa. She said Oh, so nice to meet you. Now my co-workers are calling me Jewel. Good Morning, Jewel, lol and I would say good morning. I just have to remember that’s my name before I ignore them and ask who are you talking to. Chile the mind, the mind, is all I can say, lol.

The braids came about because I have been seeing everyone rocking them, and I love them. I wore them once back in my twenties. I’m very, very, very tendered headed, so it was a thought process. I grew tired of trying different colors and needed a different look. I wanted a new jazzy appearance, and jazzy it has been. I have received so many compliments from everyone, men and women, black and white. Some people didn’t recognize me. I mean people have been in awe of my new look. So, again, I’ve knocked it out the ball park with my decision of changing my new look, just like my sassy short do and the various colors I’ve experimented with.

Like, I tell people you have to be confident in yourself to switch it up or step out of your comfort zone on any given thing in life to achieve and reach results you want to see. I love to keep people guessing.  

To sum it all up with my versatility, I can be classy, ghetto, hood, and professional. I’m adaptable in any type of setting and I wouldn’t change who I am to appease anyone. You have to remember, to always be true to who you are, however, learn to adapt when there is a need.

Let’s Chat:

What do you do to keep your look interesting? Comment below...

As always, keeping it real,

With Your Around the Way Girl,

Jewel aka…. Ya Girl, Dee

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