So, you’re in your house thinking about all of the beautiful afros you’ve been seeing. You start thinking “hmmm maybe I should really go natural.” Quickly, you google images of larger-than-life afros and start to wonder if you can really do it. Can you really do it? Can you chop off all of your permed hair and rock that short cut (or better yet, Is your forehead too big for that)? If you’re anything like 15-year-old me, odds were you said something like “no” and “no (and yes to the forehead).” So what do you do now? You want the natural hair but you simply can’t bring yourself to cutting it all off; even if it is chemically altered, it’s yours. The answer is to transition, which is to simply cut your hair as it grows, thus maintaining your hair length. And boy was that a journey. While I probably couldn’t have done it any other way, transitioning could really be difficult. Here are five things every transitioning naturalista goes through.

1. Styling for hair (and having it look decent) is damn near impossible.

There are two completely different hair textures in your hair. Completely. Different. Can you possibly imagine how hard that is to manage? Mastering a great twist out with natural hair in its transition phrase is an art form.

2. It feels like it’s taking forever for your hair to grow out.

You can see your natural hair growing out and you start to imagine how great your hair is going to look when you cut your hair. The only problem is it feels like it’s taking centuries for your hair to reach a decent length.

3. Finding a new protective style is a struggle.

Protective styles are great for ladies transitioning because it allows for hair growth with little manipulation. There are so many options, and somehow you’ll end up wanting none of them.

4. Breakage.

With multiple hair textures, it’s extremely difficult to manage your hair. Thus, your hair may sometimes be prone to very ugly, very undesirable breakage. The bright side is at least it was going to be cut anyway but it’s still very unappealing).

5. The day your hair can finally be rid of all of its perm is quite possibly the greatest day ever.

You’re finally free. You’ve finally met your first of many hair goals. Alas, the day has come when you can enjoy your non-permed hair in all of its natural glory. The first step of a never ending journey is done.