Random thought: Haircut

I got my hair cut this week. It's short. Actually, it's really short. And nobody has said a word. They can't have failed to notice, so I can only conclude: nobody likes it.

The basic drill is: if people like your hair, they say so. If they don't, they say nothing. This is fine and polite, and I'd much rather hear silence than, "I like your hair better longer," or "I liked your hair better before you got it cut." But the silence is deafening.

Being a normal American woman, I don't like my hair. Well, I don't mind it, really. But hair is like clothing to me: a necessary evil. The more comfort and the less fuss the better. I love my hair super short because it looks so neat and takes literally a minute to blow dry. My waves can't wave in funny directions. My bangs don't hang in my eyes. And I like the way it looks when I look in the mirror.

Looks can be deceiving, however, and so can our perceptions of ourselves. I think I get a truer perspective on myself outside the bathroom mirror, in a mirror at the gym, say, or a reflection in a window. When I catch a glimpse now, it hits me: man, my hair is short (and its corollary, I don't like my glasses).

Everyone says I look better with longer hair. So, what shall it be? Should the cut of my hair be what others dictate?

My opinion has always been that my hair is my business, so no, I shouldn't do anything with it because of what other people think. Besides, it's awfully short right now, but it will grow and look fuller soon. So, to paraphrase the Rolling Stones, "Hey, you, get out of my hair!" Oops, I forgot, nobody's saying anything.