think i betta let it go.....

'why'd you cut your hair?'

that has been the constant question of friends/family members, both near and far, in response to my new 'do.

i've smiled coyly, admittedly excited about the extra attention that a new hairdo sends your way and replied:

'cause i wanted something different. you know? new year...new YOU?"

for as long as most ppl have known me, i've had super-long hair. Save for a couple of insignificant trims here and there, along with straw sets for special occasions, i generally wore my hair in the same way all the time--rollerset every two to three weeks, and then a ponytail on the off-weeks.

i loved my long hair...for a myriad of reasons, but primarily because it was easy and because it was safe. i could SAFELY pull it back in a ponytail when i was too lazy to do it. i could SAFELY hide behind all of the 'ooooh, you hair is sooooo long and sooooo pretty' compliments. i could SAFELY hide behind this whole thing about my hair being my 'crowning glory,' without really knowing what that meant (other than thinking a silly boy might like me better with long hair, LOL).

but, as my hairstylist so eloquently admitted to me (and as my friends piggybacked off of)--it wasn't DOING ANYTHING for me.

i am a packrat. i hold onto stuff, memories, hurt feelings, pain, nostalgia....and obviously hair. cutting my hair represented ridding myself of my "look," of my comfort, of what i was used to. a shorter haircut draws more attention to my features and to my face...and presumably to me--the painfully shy Friendster who ducks and dodges attention. a shorter haircut forces me to no longer have a "safe" ponytail on Bad Hair Days--to get up, "do" my hair...and in turn, my makeup, my jewelry, clothes, etc.

a shorter haircut forces me to care.

and caring means--taking time for myself--to bring out the best me, physically and otherwise.

as cliche as it sounds, i felt free in cutting my hair. no, i didn't chop it ALL off and get a fade or go bald, but the inches that i did cut were a HUGE step for me. being afraid of how i would look going into it....but pleased beyond belief at how i looked afterwards!!!

New Year, New You is my personal campaign to unearth the parts of me that have laid dormant for so long, for so many reasons. whether it's a haircut, going back to school, writing a book, or putting myself in Financial Boot Camp, New Year, New You is all about being the best ME.

the "Amazing Me" that all that are around me see bubbling beneath the surface (and remind me of all the time)...but that i sometimes can't see through the cloud of a Comfortable, Complacency Rut that i've allowed myself to get into it.

i'm excited--can't you tell?