Not a Poem

Well, today, I'm going to do the thing the internet was made for, and post some random and irrelevant information that has nothing to do with the supposed function of this site.

I am a Red Head. Except for one, brief and quickly regrown, experiment with short hair 10 years ago (and... infancy) I have always had long hair. For years, it has been common place to receive compliments from strangers. Comments have ranged from lovely to invasive, but all the same, they all have fueled the roaring fire that is my ego.

And can you blame me? Look at this!

 It's a blanket of hair. A cloak. The surface area of my hair is equal to double that of my body mass. Well, not quite, but you get it, my hair is HUGE. Its bright, its loud, its everywhere. My hair is a tourist attraction; like the circus, but with fewer elephants.

Well, two weeks ago, I made the extremely amazing and courageous decision to cut my hair.

Oh wait, no, I'm not a firefighter...

I made the incredibly shallow decision to cut my hair. Why? I bet you're wondering. Well, my laptop broke. And apparently you can sell your hair online for so much shiny shiny money. So I looked into it, took some pictures and spent $14.50 to list my hair on "buyandsellhair.com".

Terrified of being raped and murdered by a hair fetishist, having paid $14.50 for the experience. Terrified of being spammed, mocked, stalked, harassed, or worst of all, getting no response at all. But then the one thing I didn't expect, happened. My hair sold. I listed it for $900, for 23 inches of hair, which would leave me enough for a short bob. I got a variety of responses, many of them highly sketchy. But one person asked if I would be willing to "negotiate for a pixie cut".

And something strange happened in my brain. Suddenly, I didn't want to cut my hair into a bob, I didn't want to leave it long, I didn't want any of it. I wanted a pixie cut. I mean, go big or go home right? If your going to cut off all of your beautiful, healthy, long red hair you might as well CUT IT ALL OFF! So I said sure, and we agreed on $1200.

$1200.

Oh
My
Head.

Ok, just to put this in context, I grew up really really poor. And as fate would have it, I was born a prissy, materialistic princess, and I freaking LOVE money. The only time I've ever gotten a sum of money that big was for my graduation, which I immediately squandered on stupid things like getting a car older then me running so my sister and I could take it to college.

I was skeptical, as you should be anytime someone offers to pay you $1200. And of course, I was going to have to buy a new computer so I could write my blog, and to a lesser extent, do homework and graduate college. But it still felt so good.

Well, in the midst of all this, I got to see one of my best friends for the first time in a while, since she goes to college out of state. In the process of catching up I told her about selling my hair. She responded by giving me her computer.

I can't.... I'm not a person who has trouble finding words. When in doubt, I just... use a lot of them. But how do you respond to such, such, innate generosity? Such immediate kindness! Mostly I just stared at the floor and tried to think of creative ways to say "No, you can't!" while my greedy little fingers gripped the gorgeous aluminum rim of a brand new MacBook Pro. Now, obviously, this isn't a permanent solution. Eventually, I'm going to give this poor girl her computer back. But when you're in college, working a minimum wage job between classes, and borrowing money from your future, you don't spend a lot of time thinking of "Long-term, permanent solutions". It's too depressing. The future is filled with massive debt that is already growing; with competitive interviews for jobs that aren't even the one you want; with paying your own rent. No, what you think about now is how your going to finish your homework between Netflix binges, how much of the essay you can write the night before, and whether or not you have to read/buy the textbook to pass the class. All of these things are made much easier when you actually have a laptop. And suddenly this thing, this huge obstacle that was so discouraging, just... dissolved.

And I didn't need to sell my hair anymore!
On a different note:
I have been wanting to go abroad for a year in France. The college has a program which allows you to study abroad while still enrolled here. All the finances, aid, and scholarships are the same, and of course, room and board is covered. So economically, its pretty much the most conceivable way to see any of the world before I become an official adult. All I need is money to buy a plane ticket. Which is approximately, $1200.
So, plan B. Now, I get a computer, a college education in France, and A SHORT PIXIE CUT!

So far, I'm loving plan B.

I am so grateful.

I am so blessed.

(My sister, the eternal critic, calls that little cowlick in the back of my head my "Katniss Hair". Not because I, like Jennifer Lawrence, have an adorable pixie cut, but because it's standing up going "I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!!!")