All my life I have craved having long, smooth, wavy black hair. The problem? I could never hold out long enough to grow it the way I wanted. I wanted my hair to flow down my back, but I never had the patience to wait for it to grow, and the length in between waiting was not my cup of tea.

I also said I would never go blonde, and couldn't understand when people with dark hair would go blonde, it never made sense. Hair dye hadn't even touched my hair until I was a junior in college (which I am, currently).

The thought of changing my hair color was so foreign to me, I was set on having my long black hair.

Nissa Diaz

And then the pandemic happened, and the more I was home staring in the mirror, the more I realized I was bored with my hair. I kept fluffing up my thick hair and looking at it, saying to myself, "I need a change." So, I did just that.

The week of spring break, before COVID-19 was shutting down schools across the nation, I decided I wanted blonde highlights, and I wanted everyone to see it when I went back to school.

I went into my favorite hairdresser, who is more like family, and told her what I wanted my hair to look like.

She was excited to see me add some color, and everything went well. I was so eager to show off my new hair, and then school was canceled.

Nissa Diaz

The next time I went back, I wanted more blonde, and then I wanted bangs. I know what you're thinking, and no, I did not get bangs after a breakdown and, no, I did not hate them.

I truly grew fond of them and went back to get them trimmed again after they grew out.

Nissa Diaz

At this point, I thought I was about as blonde as I could put into my hair, but boy, was I wrong. This time, I was doing my hair for my 20th birthday, and I wanted something drastic.

My bangs had already grown out, and I was also fond of my hair without them for a while.

So, I informed my hairdresser I wanted to chop half a foot off my hair and dye it blonde. She triple-checked it was truly what I wanted, and got to work.

She also thinned out my hair, since my hair is so thick. I also went platinum blonde on my entire head, and I couldn't be happier.

Though originally I was bummed about not being able to showcase my new blonde hair, I am glad I underwent all these changes to my hair while being isolated.

Being isolated allowed me to be free to experiment with my hair, without having the anxiety of, "oh my goodness will anyone even like my hair, or does it look silly?"

It turns out what I thought I wanted all these years, was not what I truly wanted.

It turns out having short hair and being platinum blonde was going to be the best thing for me. It has only been a few days, but I am in love with my hair, and it's inspiring me to take up working out, consistently this time around.

Yes, I cut 6 inches off my hair and dyed it blonde — and I am happier than ever.