Saturday, March 24, 2012

Curly Hair and Pinterest



It would look as though I forgot I actually had a blog. The truth is that it’s always in the back of my mind. While I consistently update all of my other social channels, the blog sits in the background. I can’t just sit down to write a blog post, I need a reason. I started my blog back in 2009 as a place to discuss food from my kitchen table to yours. There is no doubt that food has remained my core passion, but over the years I’ve realized that is not the only story to be told. While food will remain the core of this blog I’m expanding it to discuss the little things in life that shape who we are and the minor aspects of the day that make all the difference. Which is why I’m dedicating this post to curly hair (and of course some Pinterest talk.)

I started life with straight hair. Over time my hair gradually started to get wavy, frizzy and just a plain mess. There is no doubt that I despised it. I would dream of having straight hair. It was predictable, neat and it fit into the crowd. Whenever it was straightened it was a few days of glory, but I knew it was never completely real and it was as if I was a different person. Eventually my hair shifted from wavy and frizzy to more defined curls and I slightly began to accept it. However, it’s not until now, about a month away from turning 25, that I can finally say I’m fortunate to have curly hair.




It’s a statement I thought I would never say and I mean NEVER. While it has taken more money than I wish to consider on hair product and different hair stylists, I finally understand why curly hair is part of what makes me who I am. Granted, I’m fairly predictable; however I don’t always do things the way everyone else does. Case in point: When I was three or four my mom asked me to count by twos. It seems like a simple question; however rather than saying 2,4,6,8, I opted for 1,3,5,7 (an odd child that I was.) Even when I get to the same conclusion as someone else, I often take a different path getting there. My style of organization would likely make no sense to anyone else and I’m fine having a consistent knot in my headphones. It’s the differences within each of us that I feel define who we’re meant to be. When I think about it I believe I was meant to have curly hair. It’s another extension of my personality that disappears when my hair is straight. It’s great to have straight hair for a day or two but it’s not me. I know in life there is no such thing as perfection, we just have to work with the cards we are dealt.



Now you might wonder how I’m about to shift this post from curly hair to Pinterest, while I do have a curly hair board, it’s the point of perfection that I want to focus on. I’m loyal to Pinterest and I remain loyal to the site, but it’s far from perfect. Yet, a major attraction of Pinterest is that we spend hours on the site envisioning our perfect life. The perfect wedding, dream home or amazing meal. As I’ve referenced before this is what I love about Pinterest, that it connects our dreams and our reality. While changes were bound to occur to the site, I feel like the layout changes have taken the site a step backwards. I don’t like that boards now focus on the context of the most recent pin to tell the story of that board. The context of a traditional corkboard is that you look at it and immediately grasp a larger picture. Friends, family, hobbies, etc. While I may not be a huge fan yet, I still love the site as much as I always have. Pinterest has altered how they tell their story and it might not be perfect, but I know there is still a future story to be told and I’m looking forward to it optimistically.