Last night I gave myself a mohawk – no easy task in itself, but something I had been wanting to do for years now. I can’t say why, really… I just always thought it was a cool haircut. And certainly not for the associations it provides – I wasn’t trying to “stick it to the man” or “create a scene” in any sense, other than “hey, fun haircut!”

But those associations, and the social ostracizing that would occur as a result, was enough to keep me from doing it. I even went as far as “faux-hawk” several times, buzzing the sides short and even dyeing it black… but a mohawk? Too extreme.Yesterday, however, I sat in my usual chair and had a thought: “I don’t want to be in my 30’s, with children, before I can build up the courage to give myself a haircut.” So I stood up and walked to the bathroom.

Here’s what happened:

blockhead

giving yourself a mohawk is actually really difficult

the result - pointyhead

While I enjoyed the result that evening, this morning I woke up with fear gripping my heart. I’ve run into problems working for the University before, usually around the dress code (wearing blue jeans, several years ago, was a big no). Would I be fired for the hair?

I strapped a hat to my belt and walked to work, dread filling up in me. I knew most of my co-workers would be fine with it, but what about those hard core meditators? Would they be in shock, or afraid of me, or worse – calling up later to complain that I was somehow unprofessional? (I guess I should tell you I work in a small grocery store / market).

it's also hard to photograph

But that hammer never came. I pointed it out to all my co-workers, and no one had a problem with it… in fact, everyone seemed to like it. As the day progressed I was surprised by how many people I would have expected a negative reaction from came up to tell me how much they enjoyed it. Relieved, I’d tell them how concerned I was, and as one very old lady put it: “Well, it looks nice, so too bad for them.”

bad photo + cropping + filter = art

By the end of the day I was positively radiant. A haircut, I realized, really is just that – a way to style hair. What it expresses is personal, but that personal expression is what counts. For me, I was who I always am and try to be: a nice, polite, funny and interested person. This is what people pick up on and respond to… and if someone were so wrapped up in the appearance and associations that my hair points to that they would so willingly overlook my basic personality, well… too bad for them.

Lesson Learned: If a change to your personal appearance is enough to turn people off, it’s due to a lack of a strongly positive personality, not the decoration itself.

[Ron Khare is a Fairfield native and local author. He blogs over at Growing Freedom.]