I really want to be the winner of the first Miss Nappturality Contest, but I know that if I'm not I will never regret this journey at all. All of the women here are so beautiful.
I know. I've checked them all out. And we're all so different. I can actually see every one of us being the new face of Eden Body Works. But I'm trying really hard not to picture the others as the winner, since it's me I need to be envisioning with the crown. LOL

So I've decided that the easiest way to stand out in this sea of beauty is to just be me. No one does that better than me. Just be real and honest -- long-winded and all. You see, writing is now my passion. I thought I was a nurse, but now I know that was just the vehicle to get me to where I am now, not to mention the lessons learnt. But my passion has always been all things "arty." I love art, poetry/spoken word, music, singing/song writing, theatre, stage craft, film - anything dealing with art and creativity. So how did I end up in the nursing profession? Don't know. It was safe I guess...and there was a time when I couldn't put down health and medical books. I loved reading about different diseases and conditions. I actually wanted to be a doctor at one time. So glad I didn't pursue that. Can't imagine trying to change careers after dedicating so much time to one profession. Which is exactly what I'm doing right now.

One day after all the confusion had settled, I was looking at the going-natural site and said to myself, you know what? I just may do it! Why not? I was lucky enough to have gone from saying, "That could be me" to "That could've been me." What an eye opener!

I thought about the contest some more and decided that the possibilities and opportunities far out-weighed the vanity of it all. And if I would let something as small as hair keep me from pursuing something this big, then I didn't deserve to win anyway.

So here I am.

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So next is the issue of when I decided to go natural. Well, I started thinking about it after learning about going-natural.com. I thought how I'd love to be in this competition and free myself from chemicals once and for all. However, I knew that I would have to cut my hair, so I didn't really give it much thought. I just thought about how cool it was that all these women from all walks of life were sharing this special bond. Just figured I would appreciate from afar.

But then I had a real scare of my own. I'd found a lump behind my left nipple. I'd gone on vacation. The morning after getting back I had a complete physical and told my doctor about the lump. The next week I had appointments for a mammogram and with the cancer clinic. During that first visit to the cancer clinic, I  saw an old friend of mine. I hadn't seen her in over 10 years. She was just as beautiful and lively as ever, but she wore that tell-tale scarf, signaling that she'd lost all of the beautiful, long, thick, black hair that I remembered her having.  And it hit me like a ton of bricks that that could be me soon. I felt empathy for her, yet felt selfish that I was praying for a better outcome.  It was so humbling. It was so scary.

Well, it turned out that I didn't have cancer.  

(Watch the video)

Boy did I make a mistake. I went to this girl who had been highly praised by some girls I knew.  I looked her up and made an appointment. Her name was Angel. Whew!

Well, she applied the "supa" and sat down in the chair in front of me. I was like, what's really going on? Well, my scalp is very sensitive and I started to burn really fast. I asked her how long she was going to let  the perm stay on my hair.  And she said, "Oh, you ready? I was waiting for you to tell me when you were ready."

Huh?  What? Now who gave her a license to do hair, right?

Needless to say, after she shampooed my hair, I could tell something was wrong.   When I ran my fingers through my wet hair, it didn't feel smooth. It just felt different and my fingers were sticking to the hair and getting caught. Anyway, although it looked okay, I knew It wasn't going to be okay.  When it soon started breaking, I just cut it off. And I loved it. I've been wearing it like that ever since. But I still wasn't completely natural. I would still perm, mousse, and scrunch it so it would be wavy.

Well, my hair journey started way back when I was very young. My first experience with chemicals was a "blow-out." LOL

Of course that was also the first the time my hair fell out too.

Next was the Jheri curl. I guess I was about age 11 or so.   Between curls, perms, and texturizers, I've actually been chemically challenged for  most of my life. 

Well, I'd been free from the concept of beauty only coming with long hair ever since I had my last bad experience. See, I keep my hair short now because I found that it's most complimentary to me. Perming hadn't been an issue for me in such a long time, because it didn't really matter about overlapping. It didn't really matter because I knew I'd be cutting it again soon anyway. But one day I looked up and my hair had grown kinda long by accident. I decided I wanted to keep it for a while, which meant I needed to have it professionally relaxed to keep me from damaging it.

Hello everyone and Happy Winter Solstice!

My name is Vee and I am so honored to have been chosen to compete in the Miss Nappturality Contest. Who would have ever thought that the thing that use to cause me so much discomfort and embarrassment would also one day be the very thing to bring me full circle with discovering who I am, and learning to love myself just as I am?     I'm truly thankful.

 

 My hair story...well it's an interesting story to say the least. My story began when I was around thirteen years old, that's when I first received a perm. My mother wouldn't allow me to get a perm until then because she said I was too young! I finally begged and begged and was able to get one. I loved my perm! I couldn't believe that my hair actually stayed straight! No more straightening comb, burned neck and ears...life was great!

In the year 2000 is when I felt I began changing on the inside. I became more aware of my African heritage, and wanted to explore that further. The more I read on the significant role that African Americans played and still play in our society, I became much more "enlighted". This enlightenment changed me both on the inside and eventually the outside. Once my inside changed and I became more of a culturally proud and aware black woman, my outside had to reflect that change.

In 2001 I decided I wanted dreadlocks. Being from a small town in Ohio where not too many people sported locks, I knew I had to go to a larger city to achieve them. I met a loctician in Cleveland, Ohio and had my first consultation with her. She informed me that I had to cut off my permed hair, which was shoulder length. For most people that would have been devistating, but for me it wasn't. Remember, my inside had already changed, so this was just a formality for me. I wore braids for the next four or so months in order to let my natural hair grow. Once I achieved about four inches of natural growth, my hair was cut! Boy did I look different! My familty thought I had lost my mind, but in all truth, I found my mind! That was the most difficut part of my transition. Sometimes your family can say things to hurt you, and it hurts much more than coming from a stranger.

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Kamal Imani is a New Jersey based spoken word poet and positive conscious hip hop lyricist. With the predominant bombardment of negative music and imagery, Kamal provides a breath of fresh air to those craving music and poetry for the mind, body and soul. Excitiing live show and presentation! Veteran Performer! HBO The Wire Spoken Word Finalist American Idol Chart Topper-Spoken Word Category WBLS Poetry Finalist NJ's Most Talented NJ Nets Game Presentation Vocalized Ink Radio Chart topper. Kamal also has his 2 cameo appearances in the film "Golddigger Killer" as well as his music. New CD 'The Mic Is Calling Me' http://cdbaby.com/cd/kamalimani
His new CD "The Lost Scrolls of Eastern Philosophy" is soon to be released as well.
http://www.myspace.com/kamalsupreme (See Videos For "You A Armchair Revolutionary" & "The N Word"!
Kamal's rapidly rising neo soul and spoken word fusion song and video "Ms. Melanin" a dedication to the Sisters has stayed on the American Idol Underground and Vocalized Ink Radio top charts for over 8 months including rave reviews from industry radio, media and fans. Kamal now has a 2008 "Ms. Melanin" calendar and other associated products coming out on the market. It's success has also led him to host a radio show on Vocalized Ink called "Revolutionary Art".
Kamal Supreme Amen AKA Kamal Imani has been blessing the Mic since the age of 9. He was born in Harlem NYC. He lived in the Bronx before moving to New Jersey where he performed at many house parties with one of his earliest crews, the Asiatic Brothers. He has been on the same stage (opened for or performed with) the likes of Buju Banton, MC Shan, Jazzy Joyce, Big Bubs, Cassidy, Red Head King Pin, King Just, King Sun, Das Effects, Doug E Fresh, and more!. KAMAL has been seen on a commercial for TNN’s & the WWF’s 'WAR IS RAW'. He has comprised the soundtrack for RBG promotions new Blockbuster Distributed indie films 'Holla if it kills you' and 'Goldigger Killer(Coming Soon).

He has performed as one of NJ’s Most Talented, at half time in The Continental Airlines Arena for the NJ Nets Game,  The Basketball Hall of Fame Organix Soul performance, He was recently interviewed and recited poetry on New York City’s progressive radio station WBAI, and performed at NY and NJ top poetry spots such as Nuyorican Poetry Café, Bowery Poetry Club, Da Underground New Haven CT with Influence, Nell’s, Serenitea, Wired Coffee House and more. He has performed at Princeton University, Farleigh Dickinson University, Medgar Evers College and Hampton University. Kamal was one of the star performers in the play “The Greatest Is Love” by Gloria Williams.  He currently appears in the film Golddigger Killer and has recently featured at the Organix Soul Showcase at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield Mass.  Kamal is also a host of the Revolutionary Art Radio show on Vocalized Ink.org on Sunday nights at 8PM EST.

Kamal is an adviser to BWARE (Black Women Against Racism Empowered) 

You are now witnessing the rise of one of Spoken Words Greats!
See my dedication to the Sistas video at http://www.myspace.com/kamalsupreme

Now on MTV UK Online http://www.mtv.co.uk/channel/flux/videos/all_she_really_wants_is_love

One love!

Kamal