I just cut my hair and have no clue how to style it. HELP!!

I chopped all of my hair off in october and there was nothing i could really do except shape it up and wear the short hair. Now, i have a little afro and the only thing i've tried was gel twist and when those started to get old i pulled them apart and wore it curly. It was cute but i wanna know what else i can do. This experience is traumatic for me seeing as though i never wanted to chop my hair off in the first place. My mother decided to shave my head without asking me while she was doing my hair. I told her i wanted to cut my hair and go natural before i left for basic training but she took it in her own hands to cut it 6 months in advance. So im still getting used to going from really long relaxed hair (which everyone knew me for), to a short afro which i've never had in my life. I even feel self conscious sometimes about how i look. Does anyone have any advice on how i should style it and even how to feel confident wearing the hairstyle?

This is where i started
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and this is how it is now
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[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Poor thing...I feel you though. When I BC'd it was about as short as yours and it took a while for me to get used to it. I didn't have "long" hair before I chopped it anyway (I'm a bob fan) but to me I looked like a boy! I colored it and wore the wash-n-go until I could start wearing 2-strand twist outs (maybe 8 months?). I tried flat twisting (if you could call it that!) or cornrowing the front of my hair and wearing the back out. I also slicked (before my non-gel days) the front down and wore the back out w/ a headband. I hope this helps you out. There aren't too many styling options available to my knowledge, but alternating between these helped me get used to how I looked with less hair.
I wasn't the most confident sista before the BC but I eventually came to terms with the fact that my hair was just that....my hair and God doesn't make mistakes! Acceptance is key....hair doesn't make you beautiful, you make your hair beautiful and you have the same beautiful face you had with your "long relaxed hair!" I think you look extra cute with the TWA...try to embrace it and your natural beauty! You could always get braids or twists with extensions if it's just too much or if you continue to dislike where your hair is now.
I have some pictures on my website if you want to check them out. I must admit....I didn't really have any styling experience but again, I learned to love myself with the short hair....if I had to do it all over again, I would still BC. It kind of forced me to love on myself a bit more....I'm worth it anyway! Take care and happy styling!!
Hair....what else?
pw: hair