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To those who don’t know me I have dreads (as in dreadlocks), and have had dreads for about 4 years now. I feel as though having dreads is like being in a fraternity. Think about it for a second, to be a part of the fraternity/sorority you have to go through a series of tests to see how badly you want in. Well the same goes for dreads, you are truly put to the test to see how badly you want to have locks.
When you wants to begin your locks, you go through what’s called “The rough stage”. This is the stage that usually shies people away from following through with the process. Some people think once you decide to lock your hair it just magically starts to grow and you will have locks like Lil Wayne. I have to warn, unless you are getting your hair redone every day, you will have your rough days. When I think about fraternities, they test you for about a week to see how badly you would like to become a part of their brotherhood. Instead of going through a hell week like a fraternity; your “hazing” with dreads could last from a couple of months to a year. In both cases, this process is to weed out those who are not determined enough.
Once you have survived your week of hell on earth, you are accepted within the fraternity and when the new crop of young men/women come around, you can relate to them because you know how it felt to be the one pledging. When it comes to dreads, after a year or so when your hair has locked; you have now officially made it into the Fraternity of the Dreads. Typically, you can tell how long a person has been in the dread fraternity by the length of their hair most times.
Now when I see people starting the process of locking their hair, I know the feeling and experience so I can be their Big Brother on their quest to become a member.
Nowadays when I see a fellow member walking down the street, I will give them a head nod even though I don’t know their name or their story but we share one common thing, which is the journey we took to joining the dread fraternity.
I want to give a shout out to Khaled Ahmed(K-Slay)and Empress Rise for helping me out with the pictures.
