Today, I finally cut my own hair after putting it off for months. With no hesitation and no prior experience with hair cutting, I chopped off 5 inches in one cut. I instantly regretted my impulsive decision, but the new hair started to grow on me as the day went on. I know cutting your own hair doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but this was the first of many decisions I had forced myself to make on my own in a while. The truth is, I’m horrible at decision making. I overanalyze situations and many times crack under pressure. I never know what essay topic to tackle, I go back and forth on what to eat in the day. I’m usually the neutral one, the one that agrees to what everyone wants. But I knew that habit was unhealthy and was one that needed to be stopped. To be honest, it became pretty bad during the spring semester, but a friend once told me that the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, so I’m headed in the right direction…
And so, I cut my hair. I watched it as it fell from my head to the bathroom floor like little sad pieces of despair, as it formed into a pile that resembled a bird’s nest. As the weight of my hair fell off my shoulders, it felt a weight was finally being lifted off of me. I had always let my indecisiveness and never-ending thoughts take control of many aspects of my life, this year especially. In a way, it felt as if I was finally letting go of my past knots & ties that would hold me back, ones that would keep me up at night overthinking. Taking that risk and making that decision could’ve ended up with far worse outcome, and this may seem cliché, but life’s far too short to hold yourself back. As Wayne Gretzky notes, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” So, if you’re ever debating on doing something, go for it!
