Personal Narrative: How My Hair Changed My Life

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I stared at my lifeless hair on the ground in horror. What was once a core part of my being was now gone. Anger quickly rushed over me as I realized I was lied to by my own mother. She had told me that it would be a small trim, but the many inches of hair on the ground was all the evidence I needed. I was mortified, because this would be yet another feature that would make me stand out from my peers. That day I lost more than a few inches of hair -I momentarily lost my drive to be an individual. As a middle schooler, I prioritized my physical attributes. It was the only thing that mattered. Compared to my friends, I was drastically different. They were all white with long flowing blond hair, so my short black hair, a gift from my Asian lineage, …show more content…
Quickly, my hair surpassed my friends’ in length. For me, it seemed as though my hair was somehow a compensation for my lack of belonging. There was nothing more I wanted than to be like everyone else, even if it meant that I had to becoming someone I was not. My hair consumed all my free time, I was always combing it or thinking about it. Instead of my hair reflecting who I was, it became caricature
Three years later, in a moment of spontaneity, I decided to get a haircut. The cut was shoulder-length; not particularly impressive, but still nerve-wracking to face something which I had avoided so carefully for years. Being the low maintenance person I am, I could not continue this facade without feeling like a fraud. It’s ironic how the same haircut that turned me into an inauthentic version of myself now liberated me. I now had extra time to focus on bettering myself and I no longer had to hide behind my hair. Over the years, I used my long hair as a shield from the world, but somehow my short hair ended up enabling me to become more confident.
As a result, I now do things that are true to my ideals and values rather than doing things because everyone else is. I also push myself to do things that put me out of my comfort zone because I have the ability to better myself from
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