In last week's article, I discuss the learning curve I've felt during my study abroad adventure in Bath, England. This week, a different type of lessons has been brought to my attention.
It's safe to say, I haven't had a good hair day since I've been in Bath. I did not bring my hair straightener or blow dryer to Bath with me because they aren't compatible with the outlets here. I convinced myself it would be fine and I could live without hair styling tools for a couple months. I made the mistake of trusting my short wavy hair during my time abroad.
When my flatmates and I first arrived at our apartment, we looked around for what other students left behind (more than likely because they had too many souvenirs to take back with them and not enough room in their suitcase). And in our search, we found a hairdryer, straightener, and curling iron with UK plugs. #blessed. Now I didn't have to be the girl to go out and buy unnecessary beauty products because they were already provided in my flat! In my first week of classes, I tried keeping up with my usual hair routine, which meant straightening it almost every day. However, I quickly realized it was all for nothing. Between the rain and wind in this city, no hairstyle is safe unless it's been properly stiffened by an entire can of hairspray. I'd come back from a day of walking around Bath and my once straightened hair would be frizzier and wavier than ever. I put the straightener back in the cabinet, started running my hands through my hair in the morning, and pretended to pull off the "casually messy" look.
Pro Tip: The farther away you are from the camera, the less noticeable your messy hair becomes--unless you point it out--like I just did.
I'm not writing this article to complain about superficial problems, but instead to raise the questions that's been on my mind since I've stopped caring about the way my hair looked every day: why do I care so much about it at home? Sure, some days I just want to look nice or different, but it's become a habit to "fix" my hair every day. Why do I do this at college in the U.S. when I honestly couldn't care less in Bath?
Although the question above is rhetorical, I'll attempt to answer it for the sake of not sounding shallow about my outward appearance. Maybe because I look around and every woman in Bath seems content with the messy hair the weather has granted them. Possibly, I'm more focused on getting the most out of my time abroad. I'm watching the quiet streets as they wake up and start to bustle into their busy routines instead of wasting my mornings in front of the mirror. Either way, this question has left me scratching my head, which consequently means spending five minutes untangling my fingers from my hair.
