Hair

A timeline of length for those who wanted one.
You know who you are.

If you don't know me, or simply haven't seen me for the past year or so, I have long hair that I tie back in a ponytail, unless I'm hung-over or need to use the hair tie for an improvised weapon. The reasons against having long hair are manifest and manifold: it gets caught in things, doubles my time to get ready in the morning, makes swimming impractical, looks kind of generally terrible and means that I am mistaken for a tramp an awful lot. I have been advised to get it cut by family, friends, colleagues and helpful strangers on the street desperate to inform me of my aesthetic faux pas. The thing is, despite all these reasons, I like my hair. I like that there is a number of things I can do with it, even if inevitably I just put it back in the same pony tail like always; I like the feeling of it on my back; I love the feeling when it's just been conditioned, or smelling it when I spring for decent shampoo; I like the feeling when the wind whips it around me- it makes me feel free, as stupid as that sounds. Also, there is also a personal significance to the length of my hair: the last time I got it cut was the day before I left for Melbourne, so any hair on my head has grown since I went to Australia. I can see how this sounds prissy and precious, but I like that I have a clear visual representation of how much time has passed since I made that change in my life.
Since New Year's Eve, I've been saying that I'd get my hair cut when I got a job interview; at the time, that seemed like an incredibly unlikely prospect and I thought I was safe to keep my locks for a little while longer. However, on the 24th February I will be travelling to Falkirk to interview for a job leading a class for parents on how to stimulate their children's language abilities. This sounds like an incredibly grown up and adult job for which to be interviewing, and I understand that I am much more likely to get this position if I show up not looking like a total scruffbag, but I really wish there was some way I could procure gainful employment and keep my stash intact. I'll miss my flowing locks when they're gone, even if I'm the only one.