Samantha De La Cruz

Abstract

Hair holds a lot of cultural significance, with certain styles meaning certain things; most times the way hair is worn has its own meanings. It’s one of the first things people notice, and most times people unconsciously judge others because of their hair. The way people treat you may also be affected by then sort of hair you have; the way you treat yourself can also be affected by the sort of hair you have.

I had worn my hair relaxed and straight for as long as I could remember, to the point where I didn’t even know I had curly hair. All I knew was that we had to put some white cream thing in my hair that would burn my scalp because I never really said anything when it started to sting and it would stay too long, and that I could not wet my hair if I didn’t want to go through the struggle of detangling it. When my cousin was 19, she stopped putting relaxer on and after a while her hair started to curl. When I turned 19, I also stopped putting it in and when I was 20, I stopped straightening it and now, at 21, I started taking care of my own hair (and stopped going to the salon). I had to learn the things it likes and the things it needs, and I also started taking pride in the hair that for most of my life I didn’t know I had.

***

O meu cabelo tem uma história,
Uma história de renascimento.
Não é fácil,
Aprender com e sobre ele,
Enquanto aprendo sobre mim.
Mas isto dá-me uma sensação de poder.
O sentido de quem sou,
E de quem posso ser.
O meu cabelo é resiliência e persistência.
É forte, bonito e familiar.
O meu cabelo carrega gerações de história,
E sinto-me motivada a abraçá-lo.
Porém, ainda não terminei,
A minha jornada está incompleta.
Estamos neste processo juntos,
O meu cabelo e eu.
Numa jornada de intenso crescimento.

My name is Samantha De La Cruz, I am a Psychology major and I have a minor in Portuguese. I transferred into UML after two years at NECC. I am the first in my immediate family to attend college in the United States. My family and I immigrated here when I was six years old from the Dominican Republic, We first landed in New Jersey and then we found our way to Lawrence, Massachusetts. Ever since I was small I knew I wanted to help people, either through becoming a vet or a doctor. It wasn’t until I made it into college that I learned that I wanted to help people through psychology and that the mind is such a powerful thing.