I have thick, out of this world curly hair. It's what I'm known for in my life. It's what helps people differentiate between me and my twin sister (they still get us confused).

Strangers come up to me all the time saying how much they love it, and how they would pay so much money to get this style of curls aka a perm.

Important note: if you compliment someone with curly hair, it does not mean you can run your fingers through it, or pet it. It causes the curls to dry out and become frizzy, and then we'll hate you until the next time we wash it. My parents always said if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it. But if you touch my hair and dry it out I will say something.

Every time people compliment me or tell me how I lucky I am to have this hair, I politely smile and say thank you. But what I really want to say was you don't understand how long it took me to embrace having hair that was so different from everyone else's.

Growing up, all the girls in my class had straight, frizz-free, model hair, even people on TV. It was so rare to see someone who had hair like mine. I was so self-conscious about it, and it made me hate my hair.

Eventually, I started hiding the fact I had curly hair. I would always straighten it, tie it back, or do something so that is was contained and not out in the open. I wore it like this up almost all through high school.

The day I met my best friend/soul sister, was the day I realized how amazing curly hair is. I finally had someone who could relate to the struggle of having this unruly hair.

We would compare products and styles that we both tried. Her hair is not as thick as mine, but she was the one who taught me to love it.

She always wore it down and open, and I started to follow her example (forever grateful to her for that). If she could love her hair, why can't I?

When I got to college I started wearing it completely down without a clip or anything. I learned to love my curls for who they are. I started to really take care of my hair and give it the best it deserves.

Don't get me wrong, I still have days where I hate it because of the humidity and the warm weather. It's super annoying when my hair starts to get bigger and bigger due to weather, but hey at least I can put it in a bun and still look good.

It's been four years since I started to wear my hair naturally. I want my hair to look good and feel good. I'm in love with my beautiful curls, and feel blessed to have them.