Tuesday, January 19, 2010

A History of the Hair Update

I received a request upon posting my last hair update to elaborate a little more on the story behind the tradition. To tell you the truth, the idea of documenting my hair's growth from month to month is fairly new and I'm not sure why it came to me, but taking pleasure in letting it get longer and longer is something I've been doing for a while.

When I entered high school in the Fall of 2002, I was a fourteen-year-old with a poofy blonde mop that brushed the tops of his ears and barely reached his eyebrows.

Me in 2002

Over four years of high school, my hair went from shaggy to shoulder length and then beyond, so that by my graduation in 2006 I sported a very long ponytail that tumbled down my back, resting between my shoulder blades.

Enormous Ponytail

Then came my Freshman Year of college. For a series of reasons, none of which are very pleasant, I shaved my head in October of 2006. At the time I was concerned with appearing older and more masculine, but all I succeeded in doing was shocking my friends so much they didn't recognize me and making myself look fourteen.

Me in 2006 With Really Short Hair

I started growing it out again from there, and in August of 2008, nearly two years after I cut it, I began making hair updates, the first of which was actually posted in September of that year.

Back then, my hair was a chin-length blonde mushroom:

BB Gets a Haircut

Growing it out again took a while, longer than I remembered from when I was in high school. Even last January, just one year ago, it was barely shoulder length:

Hair Let Down

Now it's roughly the same length it was before I cut it short, and I think I like it this way, possibly enough to let it get even longer. I'll have to be careful, though, lest I find it creeping down to my waist.

And there you have the history of the hair update.

5 comments:

Sue said...

Thanks! Just what I was asking for. Of course at my age all sorts of questions come to mind (remember long hair on guys was the rage when I was in high school and college). What are you going to do when you start looking for a job? Isn't it hot? Isn't it more trouble than it is worth? You do have great hair...I don't see bald in your future:)

Oh-there is a giveaway on my blog today. I know it isn't something you probably need, but you could always put it back for a Christmas present for someone if you win. Anyway, you always are so good at visiting me...I want you to have a chance to win.


Sue

BrightenedBoy said...

I guess that trends repeat, because long hair is all the rage in high school and college today.

As far as it being hot--I'm a skinny person who gets cold easily, so that's not really an issue.

It's also not really that much trouble, because as a boy I have the luxury of just pulling it back into a ponytail. I tie it back or wear it loose, and the only product I ever use, other than shampoo and conditioner, is a little bit of gel.

And given the field I'm aiming to go into (journalism/PR), I don't imagine long hair being much of a problem.

secret agent woman said...

I'm suddenly reminded of my grandmother who would look irritably at a man with long hair and say, "I can't tell if that's a boy or a girl." She's say that even if the guy had a full beard. She'd be mightily distressed by my sons' hair.

BrightenedBoy said...

Oh, I definitely get my fair share of teasing, but it's usually good natured (although some people still genuinely mistake me for being a girl, which I just laugh off).

unokhan said...

u may not wanna hear it, but you're cute with it short