BRAIDS + Acanthosis Nigricans + JUDGMENT.

I took this photo last saturday inside an Uber car, I was on my way to the Origins PH Mask Party (yes, I'm going to write about it!). The last time I had my hair up in intricate braids was last April during IDEM, mainly because I didn't want my hair flying all over my face, and prior to that, I really don't remember actually spending time doing my hair.



My hair's naturally black, and I really have no plans to color it, so I really had to tweak the color settings on the photo, just so the braids would actually show. I hate to say this, but there's so much truth to how they say that black does not photograph well.

Okay, can I be a little bit vulnerable here? Oh of course, I can!

I sometimes manifest this clinical sign at the back of my neck called acanthosis nigricans, and it sometimes makes me conscious about putting my hair in updos. Acanthosis nigricans is characterized by dark and velvety pigmentation at the back of the neck, and is usually a sign of some endocrine-related condition, usually insulin-resistance and whatnot. In my case, well, it is a sign of an endocrine dysfunction. There's something wrong with my thyroid (for now, let's not talk about my Stein-Levanthal syndrome, but please know that it's there). It doesn't work as well as it should-- and that's why my regular body temperature is almost always at least a degree and a half lower than what it should be (lower metabolism is a sign of hypothyroidism).

My acanthosis nigricans isn't as bad as it was a few months ago, but when it strikes badly, it really does take its toll on my confidence. I know that it really isn't completely my fault, and that it's a clinical sign of an underlying disorder rather than a sign of less-than-efficient loofah-working, but the thing is, not everyone has taken Principles of Medicine, or at least General Pathology, and even those who have may still be a bit swift to judge.

Okay, now let's talk about judgment.

I vaguely remember a quote I read somewhere. It had elements of "that guy you just called stupid has a learning disorder and studies four hours a night", or something like that. People are so judgmental, that I tend to ask myself it's still in the realm of human nature. I tend judge people too, I have to admit-- silently, but it does happen. The thing is, we don't know each other's struggles in life, we don't know this, we don't know that, we don't know sh.... --okay, I was just so close to having to mark this post as one that "contains foul language". Sometimes it's just a lot less stressful to surrender yourself to the fact that you don't know everything. I don't know if this is the right way to go about life, but oh well, it works. For now.