Hair styling

I don't usually talk very much about things I'm actually doing in my life - I've done it a few times, but I generally try to refrain from it, just because I want to focus more on writing. But especially as of late, I have been trying to think in general more about myself and my life than I have previously, changing a lot of small things about myself that perhaps other people take for granted or never really think about. In particular, the one that I have spent a lot of time on recently has been my hair.

I always kept my hair short, which is not an uncommon thing for dudes, and I was always happy with it. My main concern has always only been that my hair stays out of my eyes, because the way that it obstructs my vision drives me up the wall - especially back when I was heavily involved in martial arts, when putting on a sparring helmet would push my hair down into my eyes. But as I got out of martial arts, and became more independent, I got lazier with getting my hair cut, and over time I realized that while the visual obstruction irritated me, I actually preferred the way I looked with long hair, rather than the short hair that I had worn my entire life.

My personal appearance was never something I have been particularly concerned with in my life, but when you have a girlfriend, you kind of want to pay more attention to that. And based off of a random question about hairstyles, I got to thinking about my own. I knew that I liked the way I looked better with longer hair. I knew my girlfriend preferred me having longer hair, too. And I had seen some cool looking guys with longer hair, and they had... ponytails. So I decided that that was what I wanted to try. After all, a ponytail would be able to pull the hair that fell into my face back and hold it out of my face so I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.

But growing out your hair that long takes a long time. Longer than I had originally given it credit for. And there's a very long period of time in there where the hair is more than long enough to make me frustrate, but nowhere near long enough for me to do anything about it. It doesn't help that I'm also not a fan of wearing hats. So I started looking around, trying to find solutions. I tried headbands, buffs, pomade, and beanies. I didn't really like that way any of it worked or looked, but if it kept some hair out of my face for a while, I went ahead and did it.

I also found that I had to start taking care of my hair differently, because the length of my hair changed how it was affected by grease and sweat. I had to really start paying attention to it, which was a very bizarre experience for me. But thanks to that, I now have hair that's getting close enough to be put into a ponytail - I can do it, and I have started doing so, but it's still not long enough to actually keep my hair completely out of my face - as well as being softer than it ever has, which is nice for when I'm with my girlfriend and she decides to run her fingers through it, which I thoroughly enjoy. It's been a pretty weird experience, but I'm enjoying where it's getting me. Even if my parents disagree.