There is something freeing about a change in your life. You are suddenly a new person with new confidence. And for me that was cutting my hair. For the last four and a half years of my life, I have been rocking some pretty long hair. At the end of my freshman year of high school, I decided to cut my long hair and donate to Locks of Love. I cut about 12 inches off and was left with pretty short hair, which I loved. Since then, I have been growing it out, thinking that I would eventually donate it again. But in the mean time, I got pretty attached to my hair. After having it long for about four years, it was hard for me to give it up.
As strange as it sounds, my hair had become a part of my identity. People knew me as the girl with really long, red hair and I got compliments on it everywhere I went. I had adopted this mermaid alter ego that I wasn’t sure I was ready to lose. And so for a long time, I put off donating my hair, because I was worried that without my hair, I would lose a piece of myself. But at the same time, I felt ridiculous. Why should my hair define me as a person and in my beauty? After all, isn’t hair just dead skill cells? Ew. Why am I so attached? For some reason, I put my fear of losing myself aside and told myself that with or without by long hair, I could still feel beautiful in many other ways. But my very fear is the reason I changed my mind.
I began to think about my fear as selfish. If I could feel un-beautiful with a couple inches of hair taken off of my head, I couldn’t imagine how someone who didn’t have the choice would feel. My grandmother suffered from ovarian cancer, and often felt less confident because the chemotherapy took her hair from her. A woman’s hair is her confidence and her comfort and to lose that is difficult. So I wanted to look past my fear to make someone else feel beautiful.
My decision was made a lot easier and I was determined to donate my hair. I made my appointment, re-pinned every short haircut on Pinterest, and was ready for the new hair and the new challenge. The week before I was excited, scared, nervous, and pretty much taking in every moment I had left with my long hair. But the time came to cut it and I was terrified that I would hate myself.
The beautician put my hair into a ponytail and began to cut my ponytail straight off my head. Basically, there was no going back. My hair fell to my shoulders and it felt like a weight had been lifted. I ran my fingers through my short hair and basically went into hair shock. I was stunned at how much I loved it.
I was able to donate 19 inches of my hair and I am so glad that I did. I realized that with or without my hair, I was still the same crazy, funny person that I was before and that my inner beauty was way more important to me. It is amazing what a 19-inch trim can do for you and for others.
I know that cutting your hair can be a scary thing, but your hair can go to an amazing cause. So think about it, and consider helping someone else feel beautiful.
