hair: the long and the short of mine

I'm guessing if you read this blog, it's to get:
1) cooking ideas,
2) travel ideas,
3) gift ideas,

and maybe

4) a peek at who I am

Well, here's #4. When I was a kid, I had stick straight, blue-black hair. But of course I wanted hair like my best friend who lived down the street from me, which was wavy and medium brown. Curls I attempted to make with a curling iron, fell flat in about an hour.

At 17, I - and I mean I - started cutting my hair, short. I got a pair of Oster hair clippers and went to town. Kids under 18 shouldn't be allowed to purchase clippers because the photos looking back are criminal. Kidding about the restrictions, not the photos. Although, having a faux hawk while being captain of a cheerleading squad does make interesting cocktail conversation when you're older. See below.

I kept it short but from about 32 or so, I just grew it out. Honestly, I was busy, married and lazy. As it grew, it was puffier, duller and weirdly wavy - not the good wavy my best friend had either. When wearing it down, hair that dragged across my cheek drove me bananas too - so into a ponytail it went and stayed. During my brownie company years, to show some attempt at grooming, I had my hair straightened with a Japanese straightening perm. Four hours and very little movement in the colorist's chair later, my hair was stick straight again. After straightening it a couple of times, it didn't feel right; it felt too polished and dramatic for me. And lastly, when all you do is pull your hair back, what's the point in having long hair, whether smooth or puffy?

So I'm back to super short hair, as of yesterday. I'm thrilled. I feel younger and like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders (actually my head does feel lighter than before). Who knows, I may grow it back out one day but right now, I feel good - cue James Brown.

Images from top to bottom: my nursery school portrait, my senior high school portrait, today