Since the day I started university people began questioning “When will you cut your hair?” Some in a derogatory manner, others just merely asking. My mindset at the time was simple, If I didn’t get a “career” job within 6 months of graduating, I will putting some kind of blame on the cornrows and be forced to get rid, the stereotype of a black man with braids in a professional environment is a sensitive battle.
However, I was blessed with a career job on the final day of my exams, so what now? Secretly I did have a plan b, and that was to cut it on the 10 year mark, which also happened to be 1 year after graduating.
Its now mid-august, I started growing my hair around June of 2003; I graduated in July 2012; by my own rules it is time to go! The next time I take my cornrows out will be my last.
A society were you are immediately scrutinised for still having cornrows the day you hit the age of 18, even more so at 21
I’ve been thinking about doing this for a few months now but don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved having cornrows. I never thought about getting rid of ’em before the decade mark so to me I see it more as the end of a long project as opposed to being forced by today’s society. A society were you are immediately scrutinised for still having cornrows the day you hit the age of 18, even more so at 21. Heck, I even do it myself, when I see grown men YEARS older than me with cornrows I get a mixture of emotions mainly involving “wtf” then a self-assurance that I know when my own clock is up.
That clock hits zero on Saturday.