I'm hardcore. I cut my own hair.

There are so many movie scenes of a woman picking up a razor and shaving her head.

In some ways, people interpret this as a loss of beauty or femininity, or a whole new level of intense. Usually, these scenes feature a very emotional/mad/angry woman who is fed up and decides to take ACTION!

However, my story is not nearly as admirable.

I got tired of my hair.

It was too long, and the ends were ratty/dry.

The static in the currently extremely dry air of my house mad it extra frizzy.

I wanted to bounce my hair around like someone on a shampoo commercial.

And also, I want to stress this other reason, because it shows even though I go around saying "I could give a crap what guys think about how I look!"....this is something to note.

I kept my hair long for so long because every guy I asked said they liked it better long.

So, instead of thinking about how Caroline wanted to wear her hair, she thought about how the guys in her life liked long hair better.

What a hypocrite.

I started thinking about this...about how I tell all my girlfriends to "LISTEN TO YOUR OWN HEART!" and "DON'T LET (insert boyfriend's name here) INFLUENCE YOUR DECISION!" and decided I'd had enough...of my hair.

I let my mom know this on a particular weekday. And she said I'd have to wait until tomorrow.

Question: Are you stubborn? Has a beautician ever messed up your hair with a REALLY BAD hair cut?

If you answered yes to both of those questions, you'll appreciate this.

If not, you'll think I'm currently smoking something illegal.

Because folks, I went home, washed my hair, and cut it.

Let me point out, I didn't cut it in a rage. I wasn't crying, angry, or upset. (CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF) I wasn't rebelling against my parents, teachers, and/or school system. I was merely cutting my hair myself. I am a strong, decisive young woman, and though I daily fail at this, I took charge. I watched five "how-to-cut-your-own-hair" videos on youtube (the valley-girl accents were WAY TOTALLY difficult to understand, and I speak valley-girl, so that's sayin somethin) and picked up the nearest scissors. SNIPPITY, SNIP, SNIP! I didn't look back. I cut off six inches of my hair without a single thought. And my mom was horrified.

It's shorter, bouncier, and not perfect (which, really, no homemade things are, including people...hehe) but I LOVE IT. Mostly, because I spend a lot of time thinking about how I fall short and not enough time harnessing my potential. Potential harnessed....and my hair looks good...now that's one successful night.