....bald for a year...

I did it!  I rocked the shaved head do for a year......I shocked a lot of folks.......I rocked it!  I did it!  When I first starting toying with the idea of shaving my head I read about women who had their heads shaved by force in prisons....or areas of conflict...in some cultures a woman is forced to shave her head if she is widowed......its kinda like on one hand head shaving is used as a weapon..a form of punishment designed to take something away....on the other hand it’s a symbol of feminism...boldness & personal empowerment......with a touch of craziness splashed in there...lol

...the actual event...for lack of a better word was May 18, 2013.....my lifelong gal pal by my side thinking I was crazy as shit......I had to talk the hair stylist into doing it...she argued with me...telling me I didn’t want what I wanted...the nerve.......,finally......she did it......it was actually kinda strange as you can imagine.....but yet surprisingly moving......I could see in the mirror the reaction of those around me.....it was a real shock when I looked in the mirror......all my hair was gone...I was bald....yes bald!

.....a year has now passed...it was  an incredible experience...one that I am so glad I had the nerve to do......so much more personally rewarding than I could have ever imagined....for me in a nutshell......I shaved my head because I wanted to experience what it was like to cut something off....to see if something more beautiful would shine in its place......a better me.

.....don’t get me wrong I loved my hair...I worked it like no other...never afraid to try a new color or style.....I guess looking back I never realized we lived in such a  hyper sexualized culture that over values a woman’s appearance &  under values her true self....I don’t want to take my freedom or hair for granted....I certainly do not want to put all my self worth in my appearance.

.....I did learn a lot over the last year of being bald.....the most important thing I learned that kinda pissed me off was the number of times I heard from women that I was so brave......brave?  Really?!  Talk about a bunch of bull shit.....lazy yes.....brave.....no way in hell.....ya wanna talk bravery.....lets talk about all the people out there who are fighting for their lives....those who are bald due to illness....that’s being brave.

.....The other thing that was a constant was women where kinda scared of or avoided eye contact w/ me & men where turned off by my baldness......but everyone was nice ...actually overly nice to me....which pissed me off.....shouldn’t we all be nice to each other not matter what?  YES!

If I had to list 5 things I learned about myself....life...humanity....while sporting the bald look.....I would say...

1. Feeling comfortable in your own skin is more challenging that even when you are bald....

2.  People judge you by how you look....they make assumptions about you & your life....they think they know who you are...

3.  My hair is not who I am....I successfully challenged my own personal perception of personal beauty

4.  You really experience the elements.....feeling the sun...wind....cold...eeek

5.  It defiantly made my friends examine their own relationship with their hair & gave so many the opportunity to reflect upon & discuss what makes a woman beautiful.

There are so many style icons out there who have shaved their heads...Grace Jones...Sinead O'Connor....it actually is a very freeing feeling...not sure if I will do it again.....but I sure as hell don't regret shaving my head!