New. Hair. Cut.

No, this is not my new hair cut. I see you asking yourself: "Who is that slightly androgynous page boy escaped from some Renaissance play that I see photographed above?" Why, that fetching young lady is 8th grade me. yup. The year I decided to NOT smile in my school picture and also the year after I had a spiral perm... another great decision... which means before my school picture (to improve the aesthetic) I had all my hair cut off into the stylish bob you see captured in time in the photo above. I must say, at least the outfit saves it, no? God bless the 90's.

okay. All that to say... I haven't had short hair since 8th grade for fear that the overwhelming beauty that you see above would rear her 1600's England page boy head.

BUT my hair was growing to be what I categorize as "unmanageably long." I had considered donating my hair before, but the photo of my 8th grade year loomed in the background as a warning to my photogenic fate if I dared cut my hair too short. That combined with the fact that I really like my hair long put me in a pickle.

I laugh out loud half the time I see this picture, and the other half I just smile from ear to ear. But you know what changed my mind from going the salon to request my typical "just a little trim and some long layers" hair cut? Part of it is connected to that 8th grade picture I had my mom scan and send to me. I remembered that it was a pretty awful picture, but I hadn't actually seen it in years. Some of my classmates/friends at seminary had recently donated their hair to make wigs for kids undergoing cancer treatment and seeing 8th grade started me thinking of all the kids that are/were in 8th grade and can't grow hair at all, because they are battling a horrible disease and all the kids who won't make it to 8th grade because of losing a battle with cancer. I thought of my little niece and what it would mean for her to go through cancer treatment as a child; I thought of all the folks that I met in the oncology unit while working as a chaplain intern last summer, all of whom had no hair as a result of chemotherapy. I remembered my friends who have lost loved ones to cancer. I thought of the loved ones I know who have battled and are battling cancer.

All that gave me some much needed perspective on priorities of life and pretty much eliminated my hair hang-ups--this life is short. So I decided to cut my hair short and donate it. That said, I did print out the above photo and bring it with me to the salon so I could be sure to communicate how I did not want my hair to look. The hairstylist didn't think that was weird at all (that's a lie, but at least he laughed.)

I researched hair styles and cuts that I thought would like, measured my hair to make sure it was enough to donate and made the appointment at Sole Salon to have the most hair I have had cut off since that fateful 8th grade photo. This is the before picture. See what I mean? Unmanageably long, something needed to be done anyway so why not cut enough off for someone else to have hair too?

I chose the absolute right stylist, Ben at Sole Salon on Bay Street in Oakland. If you have long hair, if someone you love has long hair and you want them to keep it that way, go to this guy. He told me straight up that he doesn't think woman look good with long hair and would try to keep as much length as possible. I told him I didn't mind, but I appreciated knowing my hair stylist wouldn't try to do anything "edgy" and "trendy." That's just not me; at least, it is not my hair. I feel if I have dark nail polish, short skirts, nose ring, bright colored clothing.. my hair can be a bit on the conservative side--life is about balance.

So he banded it up, chopped it off and sent it in. done and done. I'm not freaking out.

In the end, it isn't as short as I thought it would be and I certainly feel a bit foolish for how scared I was to cut it "short." These are front and back pictures of me at the salon after the deed is done; I don't know if my hair will look this nice again, but I certainly liked the looks of it yesterday!

I highly recommend growing your hair and cutting it for donation. It is a nice time of year to do it and there are different organizations that will accept varied lengths: 8inches (Beautiful Lengths,) and 10 inches (Locks of Love); of course, there is no minimum length.

Having had the first full day with short(er) hair and putting it through the test of cycling and yoga... it has managed fairly well. Plus so much less shampoo needed! win! Although I like it, it is still taking some getting used to. Seems like an abrupt stop when I go to brush my hair. I think I have brushed my hair more today than in the last week. Seems you have to brush short hair a lot more to make it nice... so I will likely grow it out again...if only to cut it for donation. :) Special thank you to Rebecca for lending me her car for the adventure and KD and Roman who came along for moral support; I heart community.