I have had long hair all my life. From the time I could grow my hair long, I did. My hair has never been something particularly radical to me. I never had straight across bangs or any bangs at all due to my grandmother ruining my own mother's bangs so badly that my mom never encouraged me to have bangs. I never dyed my hair a crazy color or any color at all. I have sort of reddish brown colored hair that you could call auburn. I have gone to salons with several of my friends to get their light-colored hair dyed for the first time and the hairdresser, without fail, will look at me and plead "Please tell you are not dying your hair. You can't bottle that color."
As I have gotten older, my hair has gotten a bit shorter. It once was halfway down my back but has been slowly getting shorter as the years pass. It was always significantly past shoulder length. I have gotten it face framed, long layers, shorter layers but never anything too radical.
Then recently everything changed. I was sitting in the hairdresser's chair looking at myself in the mirror and she asked me what I wanted. As I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I suddenly had a vision of myself with short hair. I decided that I wanted it a little above my shoulder with edgier layers and a slight side bang. My hairdresser looked surprised but then delighted as if she had been waiting for this moment for years, and she probably had been.
As I sat in the chair, watching her snip away my hair, I pictured what it would look like...and then finally she was done. She spun me towards the mirror and asked me what did I think? I sat quietly for a second before telling her I loved it. She looked so happy and felt I looked really good.
As I left, the full impact of my haircut hit me. It was short, it was different and I liked it. My friends were surprised by it. My mom told me that I have not had my hair that short since I was two years old. I cut it when I visited home and my roommates were completely distracted by it when I returned from Easter break. Everywhere I went, people walked past me and motioned to their neck to symbolize how short my hair was. I loved it and I have heard nothing but positive feedback because it is such a switch for me.
I can't tell you what possessed me to cut my hair. I liked it the way it was. Maybe it was the fact that I am twenty and felt it was time for a change. Maybe I wanted to do something a little different for once. Maybe it was like a friend suggested to me, "You just needed a little liberation." Whatever the reason, I find myself liking it more every day. I was hesitant at first but hair grows back so why worry about it. I encourage everyone to do something a little daring even it is as simple as cutting your hair.
Here's my photographic evidence of my liberation or whatever you want to call it.
My personal photos
