I’ve had this desire to chop off my hair for a while. I’m not sure if there was an event or a person that drew me to it, but I really wanted to have short hair. So one day at work I decided “I’m going to get a haircut after work.” And so I did. I drove a block away from work and saw Sports Clips and thought, "This is as good as a place as any." Went in and asked for a haircut. A very nice lady cut it off and made it looked beautiful. Since that moment I have gotten it cut even shorter.

Here's pictures of the progress so far.

At this moment in time, my hair reached a couple of inches below my chest.

The first haircut from Sports Clips! The length was just above my shoulders and I got it layered, making it very fun and spunky!

And the final haircut that I currently have! I would classify it as a long pixie. It was cut so short that they used an electric razor to "clean me up a bit" in the back. For a girl who has never had her hair this short before, this was definitely a very new experience.

Let's also take a moment and appreciate the self-love selfie.

This was a process that occurred at the end of my junior year of college and beginning of summer. I had always thought and understood that changing my hair was something for me. I had began coloring in my hair in the past (What! You're not a true redhead?) but that's all the change I really did. However, during this change, I began to realize and notice some things that occurred once I made this decision.

1. People will be very, very surprised that it looks good you.

Now this realization wasn’t as much as a shock compared to others, but it still struck a bit a nerve. I remembering reading somewhere some time ago that if you want to rock any style, whether it’s clothes or hair, you go for it. I also read that in order to rock a short haircut, you need to have confidence. And I did, so I went for it. I personally made the decision that my hair is my hair and I wouldn’t care if people hated it or not. But I hadn’t realized how much it would affect other people in such a significant way! A majority of people at work, school and family were immediately shocked about how good I looked with short hair. I was only told once that someone did not like it and it was very, very indirect. Of course I was happy with all the positive energy surrounding people liking my hair, but this was hardly what I had expected. I thought people would hate it on me or just not like short hair. However, what really got me that were that people were shocked. Shocked is word used in sentences such as "She was shocked at the horror movie" or "He was shocked by the F on his exam." Never had I thought someone would be shocked that a hairstyle would actually look good on me.

2. People are going to share with you their opinions about the new haircut.

And there will be plentiful. While this did not bother me too much, it still upset me at times. People would tell me that they had thought of cutting their hair short but were never brave to do it. And then they would say that I was very brave. To me bravery is about saving someone from a burning building, donating a kidney, or reaching for their dreams despite it seeming unattainable. Cutting my hair is not brave. Cutting my hair means that I am cutting my hair. That's it. I did, however, seek the opinions of one friend in particular who possesses and rocks the pixie cut with a confidence of a queen. And even she had opinions about the haircut. While some of the opinions shared don't really matter to me in the long run, some of the opinions I do seek are from trusted individuals. Ultimately, I don't cut my hair to please anyone nor do I intentional seek confirmation that this was a good idea. For the most part, compliments and reassurance do allow me to continue to strive for confidence with the new hair.

3. People are going to ask the infamous question “Why?”

Was it a breakup? Are you OK? Did something happen? OK, they may not all be "why" questions, however everyone is trying to figure out why you cut off all your hair. I honestly hadn’t thought of a for sure reason why before being bombarded with questions. It felt like I needed to explain to everyone why I decided to change something about my body. And I know and am aware that most individuals’ intentions weren’t so selfish and I was asked kindly most of the time. However asking someone why they decided to change something about themselves doesn’t make sense. The real question is why should it matter what I decide to do with my body when I am the only resident? Why does there need to be a reason? Can’t I change something because I wanted to? Of course I can and everyone else. But the curiosity in us wants to know more and sometimes we just don't know the affects of asking someone else why.

I cannot and will not speak for everyone, but having short hair has been a strangely amazing and eye-opening event for me. Much bigger one that I had originally expected. However it did teach me that even if people have opinions over your hair, it is still your hair and you can do with it what you damn well please. I think if you want to try a style out, go for it. If the style makes you happy and confident, you’ll look great. While I may not keep this short hairstyle, I am glad I allowed myself to make a change in my own life because I wanted to.