Miss Nappturality and Me

Everyone makes history everyday with every day lived and every breath taken. But not everyone gets a chance to leave a noted mark on the world. This is what Miss Nappturality has done for me. As one of the very first contestants to ever compete for the this title, I was able to be a part of history in a tangible and memorable way. And let me just say that the experience was priceless.

I've actually never competed for anything before - at least not on such a large scale. Let's see, I competed in a 4-H competition in the fourth grade and won first place. I had cheerleader try-outs in the seventh grade and made it - 1 of the only 2 seventh graders to get picked, I might add. I tried out for marching band in the eighth grade and won a spot - most times eight graders become alternates. I know, all these are pretty trivial, right?

In college I had to compete to get into the nursing program. Having room for 40 students only, the program was very competitive. Needless to say I got in. But this was no great feat either. Having sat out of college for 3 years, I was pretty eager to make a better future for myself. So as you can see, I'm not a very competitive person by nature. I guess I'd been too afraid of failing until now.

Competing for Miss Nappturality was the first time I ever really competed for something.

I didn't look at someone else winning as a failure for me, though. Hindsight has lead me to believe that this was most likely my first failure, because it was the first time I've ever had the courage to try something as big as this, and especially while the whole world had been given the opportunity to watch. So I really do see it as a step forward for me and as a true success. I learned so much about so many things during those 10 weeks. And I learned a lot about me.

All the contestants were so beautiful. Any one of them could have been Miss Nappturality, because each and every one of them was so unique. No stereotypical, cookie-cutter ladies here! I am proud to have been one of them. I was also proud of the fact that I was holding my own with these young women. Hoping to NOT sound vain here, because it's not my intention, but here I was almost 40 years old, but I was just as vibrant and my skin was just as flawless as these ladies in their twenties. Yeah, I definitely think that was something I should be able to toot my own horn about ;-). And I actually prided myself on not wearing any makeup in the beginning of the competition. That was until I figured out I was going about it the wrong way. You see, in the beginning I thought that it was not only about natural hair, but also about just being NATURAL!

I really appreciated when the judges began to give us feedback on each challenge. Dee, of Nappturality.com, was the Paula Abdul of the competition. She kept it sweet and encouraging always. Wilbur, fashion designer and owner of SKWilbur.com, was the Simon Cowell. He kept it real, and I mean real! The first bad critique I got from him made me shift it into fifth gear quick, fast, and in a hurry. But I have to admit, I was a little disappointed that Jasmine, owner of Eden Body Works, didn't join the other judges in giving all of us weekly feedback on the challenges. I mean we were competing to be the Eden Body Works Spokesmodel.

The challenges were quite challenging, to say the least. They were time consuming and pretty demanding, but Going-Natural made sure we had all the products, supplies, and accessories we needed to get through them all. And in the end we were able to keep them. That was definitely a nice surprise and added bonus.

The Miss Nappturality Contest was a very needed beauty pageant. To give our people a contest of their own, and let us shine, and let us celebrate our natural beauty was not only a brilliant concept, which with a lot of hard work was birthed into fruition, but it has also paved a path to a new road of higher understanding, not only for the black community, but for all the other diverse cultures making up this melting pot called America. I believe it was Zavi who admitted she didn't really know why she first entered Miss NP, and what exactly she expected to gain from it. She stated she later found her answers during the competition. I found that to be an extraordinary statement and a true testament that this was in fact a learning journey.

I walked away from Miss NP with a new sense of self and a new sense of beauty. I've been fortunate, because I've felt comfortable in my own skin for a while now, but today I can truly say that I feel comfortable in my own skin and in my own hair! I am so grateful.

Sarah, Erica, Zavi - you ladies are beautiful and fabulous! Can't wait to see what's in store for you.

Tiana, not only are you beautiful and fabulous, but you are the new face of Eden Body Works and MISS NAPPTURALITY 2008.

Congratulations. You rocked it!
and I wish you much success.


Peace, Love, & Light,

Vee

And here's my journey with Miss NP:

The Afro, by Vee

To me
The Afro signifies power and strength.
With just a hint of militancy, it whispers to those who are listening, "I am free! And I am free to be me."

It's naturally regal edginess personifies the struggle of a people to first understand, then overcome and overstand.
But not only to overstand what's right in front of us and what should be apparent, but also the lessons of the ancestors...
the lessons of the past.
To overstand the oppression and the fight.
To overstand the self-doubt and self-hatred that has been buried deep within our subconscious minds.
To move ahead to self-acceptance and appreciation, and to self-love.

To me,
The Afro represents determination, perseverance, and the ability
To rise again and remember who we are,
and what we are.

To me,
The Afro is symbolic of a people digging up their rightful crowns and
hanging them where they belong.
Need I explain that one?
No, because I'm sure you know.
On some level, you already know.

So this week, I'm wearing a big Afro wig.
And even though I'm loving my short naps,
and absolutely was delighted with my bald head,
and will probably do the big chop once more before I let it grow much longer...
I look forward to the day when my Afro is as big and woolly as it is in my pictures.

The day when I
can pick up My crown
and wear It with honor, humility and grace.

February is Black History month, but I say let's celebrate it all year long!

Vee

(btw, this was challenge 6 in the Miss Nappturality Contest. I won this one;-)

Who said nappy was bad?

In the wake of the infamous Imus statement about the "nappy headed hos," new reasons for black women to become discontent with themselves and their body images were awakened. I'm a black woman, and my first question was, what exactly are they mad about? The fact that he called them nappy, or that this total stranger, who knew absolutely no more about their character than they knew about his before his statement, was calling them "hos?"

For the sake of humor, people - white and black alike - sometime use name-calling as their first device to color a story funnier than it would otherwise be. Now I'm not saying it's always appropriate, or always nice, but it does happen.

The most ironic part to me is that Imus is probably going to leave the whole ordeal bigger and better than ever. That is the American way isn't it? To be able to make the most out of and possibly even profit from a negative situation. Sure he may have lost his job, but believe me, we have not heard the last of him. Let's not let Imus have the victory all to himself.

I didn't leave that experience thinking that either of these wonderful, beautiful, and talented young women were in fact a whore. Imus didn't personally know any of them. But the truth is, the world does consider our hair to be nappy.
So what?
There is a royal and majestic aura in our naps and locks. So why not embrace it?

Hi. My name is Vee and I'm nappy and I'm proud!


But let me tell you, I found a sister who is not only educating others on appreciating the naturalness of black hair, but is also capitalizing on the beauty of her nappiness. She is Ms. Mireille Liong-A-Kong, author, speaker, host of GoingNatural.com, and founder of The Miss Nappturality Beauty Competition.

Going Natural

The website http://going-natural.com/, created by Liong, celebrates the journey of women going back to their nappy roots. She is also the author of the book, Going Natural - How to fall in Love with Nappy Hair.

Mireille's Bio

Mireille grew up in Suriname and studied in the Netherlands. She left the city of Amsterdam for Brooklyn, New York in 2002. Holding a Master's Degree in Computer Science, she worked as an Implementation Manager in the Department of Prof. Services at an Internet Company before the big boom. An active player in corporate America, she too subscribed to the idea that she had to look the part in order to fit in and belong. And that meant straightening her hair. However, bad experiences with hair straightening chemicals motivated her to gather all the information she could on African Hair. What she learned not only freed her from herself, but liberated her forever. She then decided to teach others.

In 2003, Liong rewrote history by successfully debuting with the first Dutch book about African hair care. The first edition was sold out within two months. Today the website http://kroeshaar.com/, which was launched along with the book, is the most popular site on the topic of African hair in Dutch speaking countries like Holland and Suriname.

In 2004, Mireille self-published her second book, Going Natural - How to fall in Love with Nappy Hair and launched the site, going-natural.com. When she realized natural women didn't have a magazine of their own, she decided to turn the website into an Interactive I-magazine.

Personal word from Vee to Mireille:

Now that's what I'm talking about.

You go girl!

I'm lovin' it.

Peace, Love, & Light everyone,

Vee