Don't Touch My Hair

Name: Kyra 

Major: Recorded Music

Before college, I never really payed much attention to how often I switch my hairstyles. Maybe I switched my hair more often at school because of the need for certain styles that last long so that I wouldn’t have to travel home often to get it done. But every time I changed my hair, I got a comment like, “New hair?” or “Oh I didn’t recognize you!” It never failed. It became bothersome to have others comment on what I saw to be normal, as if it wasn’t. And then there were also moments where I’d have to explain myself. With my first college hairstyle being individual braids, I and plenty of other people knew that this style was not my natural hair. But of course I came across people who had no idea and it wouldn’t be a story if I didn’t tell you that someone asked, “Can I touch it?” after I told them it wasn’t my hair. I was at a loss for how to handle the situation and just repeatedly said “No!” as nicely as I could and also probably coming off very irritated justifiably so. When it came time to take out my hair, I felt the need to give my roommate, who was white, a disclaimer that what she was about to see would be completely different than what she has seen. From then on, even when I began transitioning to natural, we had open dialogue about black issues that are really American issues.

My freshman year was full of racial interactions. It wasn’t just the hair, it was also having to become used to being the only black girl or black person period in a classroom. In my writing course, I had to decide if I wanted to share my voice in settings like this, inviting all eyes on me as if I didn’t already feel that way every moment of the class. I had to realize that I have the right to just listen but I also have the right to write about black issues as much as I want and take extreme pride in my identity. Coming to terms with the extent of my blackness is still a work in progress but the headway I’ve made is something I’ve enjoyed most about college. I’ve been able to just research and soak up so much knowledge regarding the African diaspora. So many resources have been provided to me, giving me an educational experience that has been unmatched. An experience that I wish I could give to those who are not able to attend college and have such access.

Outside of academia, socially I experienced a class divide. At my college, majority of students have wealthy parents and don’t have financial worries. Befriending those people at times became a challenge because they’d want to go out certain places that I couldn’t afford. And being surrounded by them, I noticed the other advantages they had over me prior to college by being able to jump into their music careers with all of the equipment and access they needed. I picked up on this divide later in the year and I began to see that I was behind my classmates in experience as well as in classes like music theory or production in which I’d never had before. As a music journalism major and music business focus, I faced some challenges that my classmates couldn’t understand. Seeing how I’ve overcome them one year later and how I’ve grown so much, I have nothing but pride in my heart. College is definitely full of challenges, especially freshman year. But once you find your voice and make yourself a priority, creating a balance of health, social life, and academics, you realize how sheltered you were at home and how you aren’t the same person you were when you left for school. Therefore, you aren’t going to feel as comfortable at home anymore and that’s okay. I had to come to terms with that, seeing it as a positive step, one towards adulthood that can be scary but is inevitable.