#nationalafroday "You'll need a more professional hair style to run for the club president." I'll never forget the words of a teacher in high-school telling me that my natural hair was not "professional enough"...forget me being a well-rounded student, an athlete, and having a 4.0 GPA. I smiled it off but deep inside I was hurt. So hurt in fact that I didn't even run for president...and eventually dropped out of the club altogether. That one comment led me down a road of constantly damaging my hair to adhere to the American standards of beauty. Relaxing and hot combing or flat ironing hair to get jobs that wasn't even deserving of me. . Years later, I saw that teacher out at a local store. She smiled and was seemingly happy to see me. I spoke and we caught up a few minutes and something nudged me to say something to her about how she made me feel. She listened and acknowledged how her thinking then was very damaging. She further stated that her microagression towards students of colo...