(no subject)
lots. and lots. of locks.
of love.
the tresses are gone, on their way to a new life on someone else's head. i feel bare and vulnerable without the constant weight on my back and the softness against my neck.
the only hair salon in Columbia who participated with Locks of Love is Cartoon Cuts - a children's hair salon in the mall. i had to wait a long time, since i was donating and getting a free cut, i was not high priority. i sat on the kid-sized plastic yellow picnic bench and watched way more than i ever cared to of "The Spongebob Squarepants Movie" while curious parents pushing their strollers oogled me suspiciously. A toddler with wild black hair leaned way over her mother's elbow to cautiously pet my hair the same way she'd pet a "kitty". Mom hauled her back immediately, embarrassed but I had to laugh. Especially when they called my name and I had to sit in the tiny kid-sized salon chair. This time facing a screen of "Dora the Explorer".
The woman who cut my hair was Vietnamese and had only cut hair three times before. She bundled it all in the back and thwacked it off in two big snips, making a small sad noise. she asked why in the world I was cutting it off and when i told her it was for charity she launched into a stream of happy chatter punctuated by: "you a good person" "you have very big heart" ect. i mentioned i was going to thailand at the end of the week and she told me that if i had done this in thailand they would have thought i was going to become a nun, since the nun's cut off all their hair when they join the convent. she told me about her children - both of which have travelled to more than 20 countries. she delighted me. i didn't even mind that she kept making my hair uneven and had to keep cutting it shorter and shorter to even it up, taking off 3 inches more than i'd wanted.
i really loved my hair. it was the one thing about my body that i truly believed was beautiful, that i took pride in and admired. which is why i cut it off: i think that giving it up was more honorable an act of service and sacrifice when i loved it than cutting it when i was ready to get rid of it. today i FELT like a good person. not just like a person who tries not to harm others, but a person who tries to give. it was the cleanest i've felt inside in a long long time.
of love.
the tresses are gone, on their way to a new life on someone else's head. i feel bare and vulnerable without the constant weight on my back and the softness against my neck.
the only hair salon in Columbia who participated with Locks of Love is Cartoon Cuts - a children's hair salon in the mall. i had to wait a long time, since i was donating and getting a free cut, i was not high priority. i sat on the kid-sized plastic yellow picnic bench and watched way more than i ever cared to of "The Spongebob Squarepants Movie" while curious parents pushing their strollers oogled me suspiciously. A toddler with wild black hair leaned way over her mother's elbow to cautiously pet my hair the same way she'd pet a "kitty". Mom hauled her back immediately, embarrassed but I had to laugh. Especially when they called my name and I had to sit in the tiny kid-sized salon chair. This time facing a screen of "Dora the Explorer".
The woman who cut my hair was Vietnamese and had only cut hair three times before. She bundled it all in the back and thwacked it off in two big snips, making a small sad noise. she asked why in the world I was cutting it off and when i told her it was for charity she launched into a stream of happy chatter punctuated by: "you a good person" "you have very big heart" ect. i mentioned i was going to thailand at the end of the week and she told me that if i had done this in thailand they would have thought i was going to become a nun, since the nun's cut off all their hair when they join the convent. she told me about her children - both of which have travelled to more than 20 countries. she delighted me. i didn't even mind that she kept making my hair uneven and had to keep cutting it shorter and shorter to even it up, taking off 3 inches more than i'd wanted.
i really loved my hair. it was the one thing about my body that i truly believed was beautiful, that i took pride in and admired. which is why i cut it off: i think that giving it up was more honorable an act of service and sacrifice when i loved it than cutting it when i was ready to get rid of it. today i FELT like a good person. not just like a person who tries not to harm others, but a person who tries to give. it was the cleanest i've felt inside in a long long time.