Bald

I cut my hair off in July. Gone, gone, gone; officially bald. Since then, a few things have changed. Most have stayed the same. The following are the most notable examples.

Hot, Cold, and Hats

The weather matters a lot more than it used to. If the UV levels are high, I can tell easily. I come from a line of pale Europeans who sunburn even on cloudy days, so I have to keep a hat or scarf around to protect my head. Now that the weather is changing, I'm cold. My head is always freezing. When I went out with my sister the other night and forgot a warm hat or headwrap, I literally wrapped one of her cardigans around my head. In short, I just need a warm hat all the time from now until April.

Interested Bystanders

People seem to stare a fair amount without commenting. As one would expect, the elderly population (ladies particularly) and children seem to stare the most. At the fair the other day, a small girl stared at me instead of the duckling that was literally right next to her face. It shows how dumb that kid is: pet the duckling and then stare at me to figure out if I'm a girl or a boy or if I'm sick or some fourth reason they choose. Aside from a few kids who have really stared intensely, I haven't noticed much. My mom mentioned that she noticed several people staring when we went out a few weeks ago; I had been oblivious to them all for better or for worse.

Commentary from Strangers

People want to comment on my hair. As expected, people I know, especially those who haven't seen me in some time, comment on the drastic change in my appearance. The surprising thing is how strangers respond, who they are, and what they choose to say. For example, every single stranger who has gone out of their way to compliment me and build me up about my appearance has been a person of color. Every single stranger who has said something negative has been white. (Because it's the South, they rarely produced an inherently negative statement. It's usually conveyed with their air of disapproval and incredulity which is typically concluded with "Well, you're still... pretty... in the face.")

Getting Dressed

It's harder to get dressed. My style changes and fluctuates and right now I'm in a bit of a grunge look which I don't love with my current lack of hair. I realize that it takes me longer to decide what to wear or how to accessorize because it seems that this hairstyle makes everything more of a statement. Most of the time, I usually seem to look like a punk-ish librarian. Things could be worse. Mostly, I make myself stop and ask, "If you had hair, would you like this outfit or be more comfortable in it?" The answer is consistently yes and well, that just can't be helped right now.

Surprised Acquaintances

It is so much fun to run into people you haven't seen in a long time and see their reaction. I ran into someone from college and someone from high school in the same night and they were both stunned for a minute. Usually I find that I have to introduce myself and, when they look bewildered, point at my own face until they get who I am. Then their eyes widen, mouth drops, and hands jerk towards their face. It's pretty amusing, mainly because people in the South tend to control their reactions of surprise for the most part. This is not so with realizing they do, in fact, know me.

Same Old, Same Old

Nothing. No reactions. Children in the park asking to pet my dog don't get me a second look (probably because of the dog). When I go dancing, I get asked to dance the same amount as before. Grocery cashiers don't have a problem with me. I can sort of avoid people that I do know and don't want to see because, after all, I don't look like the person they used to know. Life is normal. I just don't have hair.

Ultimately, my life is mostly the same. There are simply more chances for social observation, a lot less hair, and a lot more hats.