Today, during my religion class, I looked to my right, and was shocked to see a freshly shaved head. In the weeks previous, this girl had shoulder-length, shiny brown hair. Today it was gone.
This actually happens with some frequency at Vassar. I can name at least four people who have done this in my time here, and that's not even counting the men. I think it's great that these girls are comfortable enough at Vassar to shed something that so many of us hold sacred, in a way. However, I was fairly indifferent to it as a 'look.'
But today, it struck me. I really noticed this girl, really looked at her. She was beautiful. And not just in her face but in her willingness to be 'naked,' in a sense. I definitely hide a lot of things with my hair. If I'm having a good hair day, I feel so much more confident. It keeps my head warm. I spend a lot of money on it to make it look a certain way, to make me prettier. Today I wondered why. When you could look so beautiful, so purely and simply human without it.
Now, granted, I can't see myself shaving my head. Especially with this whole acting thing I'm doing. I'd have a bit of difficulty. Still, I've prided myself on being somewhat unattached to my hair, willing to do whatever is needed to it because of theater, or whatever else.
And I think after seeing that beautiful girl, I'm even more unattached. Like India Arie once crooned, "I Am Not My Hair."
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