“It’s just hair”

Sorry for my lack of blogging recently.. My life update in a sentence: I’ve gone from Las Cruces, NM to Sarasota, FL to Akron, OH, which is where I am now.

In that time, I’ve also gone back to my signature blonde locks. It’s amazing what something as simple as a hair color change can do for your attitude.

Basically, this time last year, I had hair that I loved – I’m naturally a dirty blonde, but I have been highlighting it for a while, typically several times a year. I loved it because it was low maintenance and it made me happy.

Then, one hair stylist set me on this nine month ordeal by bleaching my entire head when I went in just to get simple highlights. I spent three months trying to correct the blonde, before I finally gave in and just dyed my hair brown. To say my mom was not happy is an understatement.

Since October, my hair has faded through all sorts of colors. See?

  

Anyways. When I first dyed my hair brown, and the fact that I did it finally set in, someone told me everything was fine because “it’s just hair.”

Well, I finally got sick of my always-changing-color hair, and I went to a salon and got it fixed. It took the stylist four hours and cost more than I’d like to discuss, but my hair is finally back to where it was last year.

Here’s what I learned from the whole ordeal: It’s not “just hair.” And I don’t mean that in a superficial, materialistic way. Not at all.

For me, my blonde hair is something that has always been pretty central to who I am. Not because it’s sooooo cool to be a blonde, but because it has always been kind of my identifier. In my immediate family, I’m the only blonde. It sets me apart, and it makes me unique. Here’s proof:

It’s also a link to my heritage; my dad’s entire side of the family is blonde, so it’s something that I get from them.

So, yeah, it may be “just hair.” But it’s also been my hair for so long that being a blonde has become a part of my identity. I’m certainly not arguing if that’s a good or a bad thing, it’s just how it is. And having it back? Having it back makes me feel like my old self again.

What do you think? Is it silly to count a physical feature as part of your identity?