Most girls love their long locks too much to cut them off. I used to be one of those girls. Sure, my hair wasn’t like Rapunzel, but it had just grown out from a previous bad hair chop. Which probably gets you thinking, why would you cut your hair again if you just recovered from a bad haircut?

Everyone has had at least one bad hair cut in their life. Well, I have had three bad haircuts, and all of them happened when I thought cutting my hair short would be a good idea. What was different about this time around?

Before I went to my first semester of college I felt I needed a change, a big change. I did not want to go to college looking like the high school Anne; I wanted a fresh new look for college. I wanted to look like a college girl, not a 13 year old teenager. I decided to change my haircut drastically. My hairstylist knows my history and feelings about short hair. My mom kept telling me that last time I cut my hair short I told her to never let me cut my hair short again. This time around I felt like I needed to do it, though. I needed a good chop.

Most people say that “chopping off your hair” is symbolic. You're releasing the old you and creating a new you, and I believe this to be true. This time for my haircut, I didn’t want it go horribly like the last three times, so I did something different. Instead of just saying how much I wanted to cut off I did research about what haircut will go with my face shape and the maintenance of it. I also asked my hairstylist to thin my hair because I have crazy thick hair and lots of it. This key step made a heck of a difference! When she showed me my new haircut I fell in love with it. I could feel the wind on my neck, and I felt very empowered. I felt ready for college.

It is weird to think (and say) that a haircut helped me prepare for college, but in reality it really did. It helped me feel a little more confident in myself while starting my very first semester of college. It felt like this weight of who I used to be was gone, and now I could become who I have always wanted to be. It also helped me embrace changes that comes with being in college and in a new environment.

My hair has grown out since I got it cut, but I still love it. I felt like a new gal ready to face the challenges of college straight on, all because of a haircut. I am now a firm believer in girls doing a big chop or cutting their hair short. You will be surprised what a nice big chop can do.