Dreadiversary

Wrote this only a few days afterward, but didn't have the cord to hook up my camera to get the photos on there. Sorry for the delay, but please enjoy!

My one-year anniversary of getting dreadlocks was August 28th. I celebrated by going to my second day of classes of my fifth semester of college. I went to creative writing, biopsychology, and American Sign Language. I ran three miles, sat by the fountains on campus sipping a caramel frappuccino and later ate ice cream with Cru where I introduced myself and talked to a ton of freshmen. Oh, and I took photos of my dreadlicious hair (my beloved roommate, Amy, helped me with the back of the head ones):

Out of my 65 total dreadlocks, I now have several dreads with names. If you remember when you see me (if, indeed, you have ever or ever will meet me), ask me to introduce you to Lumpy, SquigglyPants, Elaine, Greta, Graft, Fatty, Levi, or Horatio.

While eating my delicious ice cream that evening, I met a cool freshman named Garrett, who was curious about my dreads. He asked me if I got them just for the style or if I was doing it to promote some sort of lifestyle. ("Like vegetarianism?" I suggested jokingly. I'm not a vegetarian.) I know I've written something like this in my blog before, but this is how I answered him (roughly, and in fewer words):

"Well, at first I got dreads because I loved the style; I thought they looked so cool. But after having them awhile, I realized they did a lot more for who I was. I became more "approachable" to people. Instead of just being this cute little middle-class white girl, I was suddenly less bland and had an instant conversation starter. It no longer appeared that I have the perfect life or have nothing interesting to say. It helps a lot of people relate to me better. I get to talk to more people despite my shy nature, which in turn opens up more opportunities to share Christ. So that's not why I got them, but that's why I'm keeping them for a while."

And, in case you were wondering, I still wash and tend to them regularly, so they are, for the most part, clean.

If you are reading about my dreads for the first time and are curious about how they are made or how I adjusted to them, feel free to read these other posts:
http://musiclaughtersilence.blogspot.com/2011/09/dreadlocks.html
http://musiclaughtersilence.blogspot.com/2011/12/stereotypes-are-bad-dreadlocks-and.html
or just ask me about them! If you couldn't tell, I'd love to chat about them or anything else on your mind :)

God bless.