Randi

I cut my dreadlocks off last year, and I struggled a lot because they were long and beautiful and they had really been part of my identity. The last year I just haven't enjoyed myself or liked who I am, and it wasn't until recently that my therapist was able to correlate the dreadlocks - a disconnect with myself was created when I cut them off.⠀
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Growing up my mom would say that if you have a deep belly button, you're fat. Well, I've had a deep belly button my whole life, and no matter how much weight I lost - or didn't - my belly button was still big so I was fat.⠀
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When I had my dreadlocks I had a lot more people approach me, and conversations could get deep and personal pretty quick. When I cut them I also changed careers - I was a case manager, and now I'm a therapist - and I was no longer in school, which has been a major source of validation. And with covid, I had to work from home and do telehealth. I've just been in a survival state because my whole environment has been turned upside down.