To be a woman in this world, there are many beauty standards we have to live up to. You can't wear this, you can't look like that, you can't cut your hair too short and you certainly cannot shave your head.

But you can, you really can. You do not lose your womanhood over a shaved head. You instead feel a sense of liberation and strength knowing that it is just you there, with nothing to hide behind. You might get bombarded by strange or concerned looks ranging from people who assume you're having a Brittany Spears-like meltdown to people who are afraid you might be losing your hair in radiation therapy. Whatever the reaction, stand your ground; society does not get to push you around with assumptions.

Some of you may be a little confused, since, in the photo provided, my head is not shaved completely, but only the bottom half of my head with an abstract sun and beams etched in. I chose to shave this specific place and style because of a recent addiction with the television show Vikings. What I have noticed about the women in the show is that they are given power compared to the women in neighboring countries like Francia or England, who have little to no power. The Viking women fight alongside their men and look powerful and strong, and most of them either have braids or have partially shaven heads, similar to the men's hair. These women epitomize strength and courage, why would I not want to be like them? So I got a haircut fit for a shield-maiden and Viking while my boyfriend got one as well.

Immediately after the haircut was finished, I truly felt free from society's grip. I did not care whether anyone else would like it because I knew that I loved it and that no one else's opinion mattered. And I openly expressed that; it was for me and me only. If anything, it has helped me feel better about myself physically and actually appreciate my natural beauty instead of any artificial traits society wants to cover me with.

I do not need makeup, I do not need to dress "lady-like," I do not need hair, I do not need to make myself uncomfortable to be easier on everyone else's eyes. It is my body and I can do what I want with it. If I want to project a fearsome Viking look, then I will do it and I will do it with ease and comfort. I have spent so much time of my life being self-conscious and afraid of what I looked like to others, so why not make them scared instead? No one else will give you the keys to freedom and happiness, so just liberate yourself.