a tribute to my long, long hair.

those who know me, know that i had super duper long hair for a super duper long time.  i cut fourteen inches off my hair in october, and have been navigating the uncharted waters of life with "short" hair since.  

it was a huge change for me! i felt so connected to my long hair for such a long time.  but sometime in the last year, i just couldn't stop thinking that i wanted to chop it off.  i started saying it out loud to people MONTHS before i actually brought myself to cut it.  "i'm going to cut my hair, guys. guys, guess what? i'm going to get an actual real-person hair cut soon." some people would say, "WHAAAAT?!?!?!?" <<these are the folks who really know me.  most people would say, "ooookayyy, weirdo. it's just a hair cut."  

for anyone who has had very long hair or something about them that feels very much part of their identity, changing it is actually a really challenging thing to go through with!  i was super scared when i was driving to the appointment...like roll-down-the-window-and-breathe-deep level of nervousness.  so silly thinking back on that.  i really felt that my long hair was a huge part of who i was/am...it was with me for so many years.  the last time i had hair as short as it is now was probably 1998.  

in fact, up til recently (after 2 full months of being "short"-haired), i still identified as being a very long-haired person. i felt sort of like clayton bigsby from chappelle's show, the blind black white supremacist. ha!!  in a far, far more innocent way, obviously. that example is a bit extreme.  even now when i brush my hair, i expect there to be about a foot more of it once the brush hits the ends and i have to be like, "oh, right. that happened."

anyhoo, here are some pics of long-haired me below.  this post was actually really fun/funny/horrifying to put together.  i hope i don't embarrass anyone in my path.  i could have selected many, many more photos that i will omit (for my own sake!!).  i haven't looked back at college photos in quite some time.....there were some that i simply cannot believe exist.  it also helps me remember how fun/exciting/weird/awesome the last ten years have been.

its pretty appropriate that i happen to be writing this on the eve of my 28th birthday!  all these photos come from the last decade of my life.  so many good times with you, LONG HAIR!!! i loved you so.

if there's anything i've learned about myself in the last several years, it is that i do everything on my own time.  i'm pretty consistently 2-5 years behind any social trend or things that my peers are doing. its not that i don't notice whats going on around me, i just tend to take my time doing everything.  for the sake of the hair example, i remember right at the end or immediately after college, all my friends were chopping off their long hair into these fun and fresh looks. this is not to say that we all must do what all our peers are doing at the same time, there was just zero part of me that was interested in doing the same.  so the very long hair stayed for several more years.  i can apply this same theory to many, many other parts of my life right now. ;)

well some of these pics are really making me want to go back to greece and be all tan and stuff.

i'm loving all the cameos by so many various people in these photos... getting my hair caught in passersby sunglasses, sippin' water with natalie at a monastery... the usual!

THINGS I WILL MISS ABOUT HAVING LONG, LONG HAIR:

• BIG, MESSY BUNS!

• LONG BRAIDS!

• JUST LONG, LONG HAIR WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE HAVING LONG, LONG HAIR! (hair whipping party tricks are now a thing of the past. boohoo.)

THINGS THAT ARE AWESOME ABOUT HAVING SHORTER HAIR:

• THE CAR! sitting in the car is a MUCH better experience with short hair.  i would constantly have to lift my hair around and set it somewhere it wasn't in the way, it would get caught in my armpits & clothes, in the sunroof, out the window, in the door, stuck under the seatbelt, touch the roof if it was in a bun, all sorts of annoying things that drove me insane.
• WEARING SCARVES/HATS/DRESSES! just an observation that wearing scarves & beanies and wearing dresses is much less frustrating to me with short hair.  i feel like i was rapunzel having to literally lift my hair all the time and place it.  how strange.
• PERKY PONYTAILS! my classic high pony of long hair was always soo flat and heavy.  now its a perky little pony.
• BRUSHING/WASHING HAIR!  OMG OMG. this is quite the delight.  my friends know how much i despiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiise getting ready and that i personally think it is a humongous waste of time. having curly hair has always been a big help in getting away with getting ready fast, but brushing it was a freaking nightmare on elm street.  don't even wanna go there.  NOW, i brush my hair like it aint no thang, washing is a breeze, combing is effortless, and straightening takes like 1/4 of the time it used to take.  curly is still an option, too! i was pretty afraid of having triangle-head when the gal cut my hair.  luckily it is shorter in the back and all curly triangle-head fears are no more.

so here's what it looks like nowadays!:

i desperately wish i could go back in time and clean this mirror.  how emburrrrrassing... 

woof. puhlease ignore.

and then i went to new york and had so much fun and whitney took a picture of me with ice cream.  and i should stop wearing this striped shirt so much i guess.

thank you, hair lady in my neighborhood who was awesome at cutting curly hair and for not making me feel nervous anymore! i feel like i lost a little part of me, but i was ready after psyching myself out and telling the universe for a whole year that i was going to cut it off, ha! i donated 2 ponytails to the pantene beautiful lengths program.  

qp