My hair at work, school, and home

I've have been thinking alot about my hair lately. I think about how my locs are changing and what impact that will have at my work place. My locs were installed in December of 2008 while my workplace was closed during the holidays.
Before I left for the holiday break I wore my hair somewhat like this....

Well when I returned to work in the January of the new year I looked somewhat like this..

Now obviously there's a big difference. Most people at work thought I had microbraids. You know what, I let them think it. Why didn't I tell them right then that they were locs? What was I afraid of? I don't know. I haven't completely wrapped my head around that one yet. Only a hand full of co-workers know that these are locs that I'm cultivating. Well after 4 months, my locs are changing. They are not as shiny as before. There are becoming a little fuzzy. And surely someone is thinking, When is going to take those braids out? I don't know. Maybe it's all in my head in my situation. I get compliments about my hair. I always had. But now they're from different people. The people that complimented my flat wrap (1st picture above) are now not saying much about my hair nowadays. At first they did because it was different. It was curly looking. Not kinky looking. Now my texture is peeping above the relaxed ends. Well guess who is paying the compliments now. One black natural hair wearer and a couple of Caucasian men. GO FIGURE!

I try my best to keep my hair professional looking while at work, but baby locs are rebels! They go and grow the way they please. They defy gravity. I have even tried to pin my hair up only to find 5 to 6 locs that had escaped after a few hours.

When I leave work I go to cosmetology school in the evenings. There I feel as though I have more freedom. I have actually gone to school without a roller set. No curls whatsoever. Before I went inside, I put my hands in my hair and tossed it up. It was everywhere. Walked in the door and my gentlemen classmates went crazy! :-) It was like.......

~What's different about you today? ~Wow, you just have a glow about you! ~Did you do something different to your hair?(Yeah, freestyle) ~Can I get a hug? ~Can I touch your hair? ~Your hair is so cool! (teenage admirer)

Needless to say that I enjoyed every moment of that, hehehehe.

At home, my honey is wondering why it doesn't look like the woman he saw on the blog yet (Blak Kofi). Ugghh! Men! My daughters all take it differently. My oldest (13) likes it. She thinks its "straight" which is quite the contrary, but her way of saying she likes it. My 9 year old is still trying to figure it out, and my youngest (8) wants to know when will it be straight again, like I had it before. She liked the flat wrap long and straight down my back. My mom doesn't say much. She's more of an observer. My sister is contemplating locs because she likes mine already. My dad hasn't really seen my hair in the past 4 months and my brother could care less if I was bald. :-) That's just the way it T. I. is

Anyway, I'm enjoying it. I love it actually. I must admit I do have some anxieties like, will my hair turnout right? And I consider myself a patient person, but my baby locs are trying my patience. When will they look like locs? When will "buds" develop? I'm learning to calm down. See what new adventures awaits me on my natural hair journey. What obstacles will I face? What triumphs will I have. I think I'll sit back, strap in, relax and enjoy the ride.