Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Blonde

Lately, I’ve been all about challenging myself, taking risks, and seeing myself succeed. I want to stop burrowing in my shell when opportunities for growth arise. I’m still very far away from the girl I want to be. I don’t seek out opportunities and more often than not, I turn down exciting adventures that will help me grow as a person.

But then sometimes, I put my mind to something and I achieve it. Sure, maybe to you a hair cut and color job isn’t a big deal. Maybe it’s something you think is a little cheesy and self-promoting. But to me, this signifies something big. I didn’t have a lot of people supporting this decision and it was really something that I had to do for me. To show myself that I can take a risk and it can pay off. Or maybe it can’t, but at least I took the risk.

Locks of Love is a charity that I fully support and feel a passion for. With this charity, people donate their hair which will then be made into wigs for kids with cancer or other diseases that cause hair loss. The main criteria is that it’s unbleached and at least 10 inches long. Ever since I was little, I’ve wanted to donate my hair to this charity. But my hair doesn’t grow very fast and I would always get annoyed with my hair length and cut it off before I could grow it out to be long enough.

But I made a decision to cut my hair off. Donate it to Locks of Love. And do something good for a change.

And let me tell you, it was not easy to keep growing it out, especially as it got hotter and hotter outside. Long hair is not conducive to Florida summers. I had my hair pulled back in a ponytail more than ever in these past few weeks. But I did it.

And then I decided to do something absolutely crazy with my hair. I was going to dye it blonde. While I had been blonde as a child, it slowly grew darker and darker in middle and high school, until it was this weird blondish-brownish color. The first time I colored my hair was when I was 19 years old. My mom didn’t want me coloring my hair until I was at least 16 and by then, I was at this weird stage of Wanting To Be Different. So while all the girls around me were dying their hair and doing kooky things to it, I kept it long and my natural hair color.

I’ve been coloring my hair the same color for the past 3 years. I felt like it was time for a change. Something drastic. Something I would either hate or love. And I decided to go blonde. Even if I hated it, I wanted to try out being a blonde for a season. (And much love to Mandy for telling me “It’s just hair!” whenever I expressed doubts.)

Today, I did it. I chopped off close to 13 inches of hair in total (11 of it going to LoL). And I can now be classified as a blonde.

Some before pictures:

LongHairCollage

And now…the new Stephany

NewHairCollage

27 comments:

  1. Love love love it! Seriously, it's perfect for you!

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  2. Yay, that's awesome! I did the same thing in 2007 and it felt great. The new hair totally suits you.

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  3. I'm so happy that you took the plunge and did something so huge! 13 inches is a lot, and let me tell you, it looks SO GOOD on you! I love the style, and blonde suits you well! Also, it's awesome that a majority of it could be donated to Locks of Love. :)

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  4. I have a HUGE SMILE on my face reading this post. You are an amazing, fun person full of so much personality and now I think you're overall look expresses that! The way our hair is can have a HUGE affect on how we feel and act.

    And, girl? You look SMOKING!

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  5. I just tweeted you, but again, absolutely love your new hair! It's definitely cute and a great change for the Summer season. Two thumbs up for having the courage for such a drastic change!

    And, Locks of Love is an amazing program to donate to. My brother and I (he keeps really long hair for a male) only cut our hair if we have enough to donate it. It's such a simple, meaningful cause that makes a big change.

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  6. OMG! I didn't realize how LONG your hair was. I love love LOVE the new 'do!!! I've also donated twice...don't you feel great when you do???

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  7. Wow, I love it! The blond hair looks great—perfect for a summer 'do.

    Two haircuts ago I got several inches off my head, and it felt SO GOOD to be able to send off to Locks of Love. I'm thinking about doing it again with my next cut.

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  8. Love, love LOVE your hair!! It looks fabulous! And it should be noted that the "its just hair" comment was in the context of color, not cutting it all off (because I am a big baby and while I will dye my hair in the blink of an eye, you won't find me cutting off more than absolutely necessary). =) Your hair looks amazing in both that style and color. Good for you for donating your hair to such a great charity!

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  9. LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stephany, really its gorgeous! So is it true.... do blondes have more fun?

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  10. Stephany, this is awesome! I'm so proud of you, and I LOVE the blonde :)

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  11. Perfect for summer and perfect for you!

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  12. The short and blonde hair suits you perfectly!
    I never had the guts to dye my hair, I guess blonde wouldn't be the right choice for me (since my haircolor is close to black), but maybe a little lighter for the summer?? You definitely inspired me. And that you donated your hair: that is amazing!!

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  13. Mine was down to my butt before I shipped it off to the gulf.

    I love the new cut-n-color! sexy hawt! :-)

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  14. Great cut. Wonderful color. I enjoy your blog (my daughter introduced me to it and I always enjoy reading good writers.) You write with wit, honesty, and courage. Keep it up!

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  15. AW, cuteness!!!!!!!!!! Wow, you're the third person I know this year who cut their hair short...I would do it myself, but I really don't look good with short hair. The only time I looked good with short hair was when I was 6-9 and had bangs. :-P My Mum also cut her hair short and donated it to LoL; the funny thing is she didn't tell any of us so when she walked back in the house, my Dad looked at her like "what the heck???" But he likes it now. ;-D I might cut my hair short-ish once it's long enough to donate to LoL, I dunno...

    Blessings,
    ~Laura

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  16. You know I am ALL about you taking risks and I loved how you started this post - with determination, and a "so what" if people aren't supportive or encouraging, or feel like it's self-promoting - it's not, and I've found that when you really start to focus on bettering yourself and doing something good to grow and contribute to the world, you'll really find out who the people are in your life that you want to keep around and who you can get rid of. In the last month I deleted like a hundred people on Facebook because they weren't positive forces in my life, and instead of recognising efforts to better myself, would make snarky comments (like my singing vlog - it was totally scary, and although I did get a lot of REALLY sweet feedback, some people had to point out "oh, well it's not the same as singing in front of real people"). You don't need those people around and you will always have ME to support you in your goals and cheer you on!! Your hair looks AMAZING and it just goes to show how awesome taking a risk can be :) :) So proud of you!!

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  17. Love the fact that you were so sweet to do this, AND love your cute new do!!!!

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  18. WOWOWOW!! First of all that's awesome that you donated to Locks of Love, as they are such an amazing charity which I also feel passionate about. And Second of all, your good deed DEFINITELY was rewarded with your short hair looking FABULOUS. I love how it really frames your cute face. And the blonde looks awesome. It's perfect for summer. I'm so proud of you for donating your hair and now you get to rock a new summer do. *Insert blonde joke* -- Oh wait, I'm blonde too. Welcome aboard!

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  19. looove the new hair do! I'm all about being crazy with your hair to come out of your shell a bit. And I completely understand, I did the same thing just a few months ago by dyeing my hair new colors too! I am currently at the underneath of my hair purple and I love it. Taking a leap of faith in yourself, no matter how big or small, is still important!

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  20. Your hair looks wonderful! Cutting off that much is such a huge leap, and it looks like it was so worth it!

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  21. I love it! Gorgeous hair cut, and you look great as a blonde. (And just so you know, changing hair color and cut are definitely a big thing to me. I've never been brave enough to dye my hair or cut it much shorter than my shoulders - so I'm impressed by your adventure.)

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  22. Oh my goodness, I love it! You look fabulous. :]

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  23. Love your hair!!! Welcome to the blonde world. ;) AND blondes have more fun!!

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  24. It looks oh-so-good on you! :)

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  25. I'll have to agree with everyone else -- I loves it! Its spunky and light hearted and I think totally fits your personality!

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  26. nice job!! You are brave for chopping off that much! Looks great :)

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  27. You look beautiful! I am in the process of growing mine out for Locks, too! It's on my list of things to do before 25 : )

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