My curly hair has played a pivotal role in how I reveal myself to the world. My hair is brown with extremely thin strands of hair that form medium- sized unconventional curls that can be difficult to manage. When I leave my hair untamed it expands and " takes a life of its own." It becomes an uncontrolled, unrestrained, disorderly mess; but I love it.

I love having a curly mess on my head. Why? There are so many reasons. Of course, it can be annoying having to manage my curls by using massive amounts of anti-frizz products. However, those curls have become an integral part of my identity. Without my curls, I would not be Annabel. This may sound strange, but I believe that my curls represent the fun and weird aspects of my personality. They represent the unique qualities about me that make me who I am. My curls help me "stand out" and strangely give me a rare boost of self-confidence.

When I was younger I would always feel self-conscious about my messy hair. I never knew which products could "tame the beast" that was my head, and I all of my tiny friends surrounding me were straight-haired individuals. Why was I different? Why couldn't I be blessed with the easiness of not having to worry about my hair looking "crazy"? Why was I the one who had to blow-out my hair every day in attempts to look like all the other young girls in my second-grade class? Why was I different? Little did I know that in today's world, being different is a blessing.

Everyone wants to have something that causes them to feel "unique" and "special." I'm not saying that my curly hair is the only special part of who I am, however, embracing my hair definitely opened my eyes to how valuable it is to be different. The successful people in this world are the ones that make their differences known to the world.

If J.K. Rowling decided to neglect the unique imaginative world she concocted in her mind every day, then she wouldn't have written the idea for the first Harry Potter book on a mundane napkin at a restaurant. If artists like Taylor Swift weren't "crazy" enough to give everyone in her town a demo of her singing than she wouldn't constantly win the plethora of awards that are always too much to carry. If Barack Obama didn't "hit on" Michelle Obama in their young years, then they wouldn't be seen as the power couple everyone admiringly adores. Michelle along with the United States of America obviously did not choose Barack because he was like every other President that ever existed, they chose him because of that special quality he was ready to bring to the world.

Sometimes it's difficult understanding this concept of, "embracing what makes you special" because some people may influence how you feel. My mother always hates it when I wash my hair and let it air-dry because she despises my "crazy" curls. She thinks they're ugly and that I should confine to societal norms and straighten my hair every day. I know my mother loves me and simply wants my hair to look "its best," but I don't see how my curly hair can look ugly. I think my curly hair is a part of me and if it really is considered to be an "ugly" part of me then it's an ugly part of myself that I am whole-heartedly in love with.

I'm not writing this article to brag out my wild curls. I'm also not writing it to rebel against my mother's influential remarks. I am writing it because I've noticed that so many curly-haired women want to have straight hair. I have also noticed that many straight-haired women tend to crave curly hair.

Both curly-haired and straight-haired women need to realize that what you're born with is a part of who you are. Of course, if I want to straighten my hair for a night then I will, but my curly hair is a huge part of me. I'm not me without my "crazy," "ugly" light brown curly head of hair.