Garnier Nutrisse #535

I’ve come to the realization that most of the turning points in my life are evident through my hair. The most memorable and lengthy change was growing out my bangs when I moved to Bowling Green – my first home away from home. This was a huge deal for a child growing up in the big-hair decade, and the fact that it took two years for them to grow down to my chin pretty much guarantees I’ll never have them again. However, the correlation goes all the way back to junior high. After my seventh-grade boyfriend (and first love) dumped me, I insisted on having my hair chopped off. I ended up with one of those cuts that resemble someone setting a bowl upside down on your head and cutting around the edge. I chopped my hair off again during my senior year of high school in anticipation of graduation and college. (Although it was short again, the cut was layered and definitely more feminine than the bowl cut. Hey, I learned from my past mistakes.) I switched from cutting to coloring my hair following a year in Bowling Green. After being ill enough to lose more than 15 lbs. and eventually being forced to withdraw for a semester, my mother and sister turned my dark brown tresses into strawberry blonde. (Since redheads tend to have light complexions anyway, I didn’t look quite as sickly and it was a great boost of confidence.) I maintained a variety of lighter shades throughout college and then dyed it dark again following graduation and prior to the move South. (The dark didn’t last long; I ended up going back to dark strawberry blonde.) The last time it happened was right before I left Greenwood. Shavonne helped me put in temporary red streaks with Megan and Caroline assisting.
It’s not a new concept for women to change their hair to reflect a new mood, a new attitude or a new direction in their lives. Which made me wonder why I felt the sudden but undeniable urge to color my hair now. I didn’t do anything to it when I made the decision to move to California, and I think it was long overdue. Yes… was. I colored it yesterday to something close to natural. I’m took it as a sign that I’m finally coming to terms with the past, embracing the present and looking forward to the future.