I chopped off my hair a couple weeks ago, Ichabod. I haven't had my hair this short since . . . well, since I had hair at all. And I LOVE it. A lot. So much. I had thought that, because I was chopping it off and donating it, and because my hair had long been a source of vanity for me, and because it fuels my imagination, and we have a deep connection, and it is a link to me and the maudlin little universe I'd created for myself . . . well, in short, I thought I'd actually miss it. Funny, huh? I am still joyfully in the phase of looking at people with long hair and just pitying them--the tangles, the amount of time it takes to fix, the hampering feeling of having long hair with a backpack . . . Yes, it is pretty. Yes, boys--it is fun to run your fingers through. But I have news (mostly for myself)! Having short hair has almost all the perks of long hair, and much much much more convenience.
Fact 1: Long hair is attractive to the male gender. (Boys--do not deny this. I have conducted a large informal poll on the subject, and have come to this conclusion.)
Fact 2: Long hair is pretty.
Fact 3: Long hair is tragically romantic.
These three things were really the only things keeping my hair on my head several weeks ago, when my long hair was driving me absolutely insane and I couldn't seem to get it to do anything I wanted it to do. At the time I cut my hair, my annoyance simply overpowered these three facts. However, now that I have experienced the free and easy joy of having a head half a pound lighter, I can very easily refute these.
Response 1: Boys? You like long hair because it feels nice and smells nice and is feminine. Well? My hair is feminine. I didn't shave my head--it still curls on the edges and frames my face and all that--it's just short. Also, it smells nice because I haven't yet abandoned personal hygiene. And because it's shorter and therefore healthier, it is even softer than it was before. Still great for running fingers through. Onto the next point.
Response 2: As aforementioned, my hair is feminine, and very cute! I can do all kinds of things with it--it's a very versatile style. It's fashionable, and "cute," but it can also be more serious. It is pretty. I like it.
Response 3: Okay, okay, so although my hair will still blow in the breeze, it doesn't have quite the same tragically romantic appeal that my waist-length hair had. You know--picture a balcony by the seaside, in the purple twilight just after sunset, in a long, flowing white gown with long golden hair occasionally catching the barest sparks of light, tumbling over ivory shoulders in the slight breeze off the ocean . . .
BUT,
I can be a pixy now, which I've always wanted. It's a completely different, tinkerbell kind of whimsically romantic. My imagination still runs away with me--my lack of Disney princess tresses hasn't hampered it at all. (And by the way? NO ONE has Disney princess hair. It is not real. I have tried over and over to get the same hairdo as Sleeping Beauty and have sadly come to the realization, time after time, that it is simply not possible because she isn't real, and neither is her hair.)
At any rate, yes. I love my new haircut. It is SO much more convenient. It never bugs me anymore! And takes about five minutes to style every morning. I am in serious danger of never getting the amazing wedding hairdo I'd always imagined, simply because I love my new haircut so much.
Peace out, Ichabod.
