Growing Up and the Transitions of Hairstyles

Dan's blog really got me thinking about my own hair and how my relationship with it evolved as I grew up.

He wrote about how his thoughts of hair changed through observations about his brother.

When I was A LOT younger, I had the traditional little girl bob of a hair cut.

I don't remember feeling any particular emotion associated with this hairstyle.

The first time I can recall feeling insecure about my hair was when I realized I looked stupid wearing the cute types of headbands the other girls could wear.

How did I know I looked stupid? The other girls told me.

As I got older, I grew my hair out longer.

I remember getting it cut in the 5th grade to a much shorter length, and crying.

Honestly, it sounds pathetic, but this is actually a common response of women who cut their long hair.

They've had their hair for so long that they have become attached to it, even possibly proud of it.

Anyway, I donated to Locks of Love and got over it.

I grew my hair out again (down to my waist) until sophomore year of high school, when I cut it again for Locks of Love.

My junior year, I cut my hair super short. Around this time, my boyfriend told me my haircut looked like his dad's old hair cuts from when he was younger.

Needless to say, that did not go over well.

Since junior year, I have been growing my hair out again. Basically, I'm vain and don't want to be told I look like a guy again, much less a guy with a dated haircut.

Another interesting aspect of hair isn't just style or length, but color.

I cannot tell you how many boxes of dye my friends went through during high school.

They got highlights, lowlights, and most of them have been redheads at one point or another.

My friend Lia even went shades of purple, but going to a Catholic school, this wasn't allowed. Her solution was to wear a wig to school.

Hair isn't solely dictated by cultural norms or professional expectations, but also private educational institution dress codes.

As I mentioned before, Lia could not have purple hair. This is because none of us were supposed to have hair that was not our natural color. We could get away with going redhead etc, but if a blonde tried to go brunette, it was too obvious and they would be punished.

In addition, we couldn't have "punk" or "goth" hairstyles, meaning no mohawks.

My friends who wanted to shave their heads after seeing V for Vendetta had to wait until after graduation so they weren't kicked out of school.

The boy's institution also had hair regulations. Their hair could not touch the collars of their shirts. If a boy's hair was too long, he was called to the dean's office and received an impromptu haircut from the dean himself.

This led, of course, to boys growing their hair out as acts of rebellion.

These regulations didn't only apply to the hair on the tops of their heads, but also facial hair.

Every boy had to be clean shaven, or they would receive a complimentary shave from the dean, with the added perk of detention.

Detention for fuzz? Really?

Really.