Going Against the Cowlick

Last week I went to get my haircut.  It hadn't been that long since my last cut, only 10 months or so.  After all nothing says adventurous like seeing how many "awkward phases" your hair can go through before you finally relent.  I have really thick hair so thick that I was forced to totally sit out the banana clip fad in elementary school, so as my hair grows, it also expands.  And eventually the awkwardness reaches a point where I can either put it in a ponytail or join a freak show. 

Every time I broke another hair elastic, I would grumble that next time I would go short enough to not deal with hair accessories for a while.  After I finally ran out of elastics, I found a style I liked and called the hairstylist.  In case you're wondering, short hair carries a known risk for me.  Let me show you.

... Run upstairs to search for that picture.  Realize the light is out and run down for new bulb.  Dig through the pile of pictures, realize it is in a scrapbook downstairs, run down, find it and scan.  Wait a minute, why would I want to publish this photo of me?  Who am I kidding, I tell stories about losing my skirt in public and publish photos of myself wearing aluminum hats and making faces.  I must enjoy public humiliation.  

Look closer at picture and realize it isn't as bad as I remember.  Was that really only 10 years ago?  Wow, I was young...

So yes, short was risky, but the hope of less work and forced hair appointments won out and I gave it a shot.  After asking if I realized the picture I gave her was a lot shorter than my normal cut, the stylist cut away.

Then she styled it for me,

and she switched my part.

You see I have a cowlick right at the frontiest part of my hairline.  Which has always meant my hair parts backwards from the majority of people.  Most people go right and my hair has always stubbornly gone left.  But the stylist blew it dry opposite from normal.  And it actually stayed!  I was really surprised it looked decent  (even if I looked transposed) and didn't jump back to the left side.

That night my hair migrated back into the normal direction, but a quick brush and spray in the morning brought it back.  So far I've lived with my opposite part for 4 days and am actually getting better at making it go that way.  And that got me thinking, how often do I accept something as inherent and unchangeable about myself when really all it takes is a little extra work to change?

Maybe I don't have to be so timid in social situations.  Maybe I don't have to procrastinate things I get nervous about.  Maybe all I need is a little tweak in my attitude (one most people wouldn't even notice) to change my outlook.  Maybe I've been relying on my personality cowlicks a little to often.


Of course I offer no promise on keeping my hair opposite the cowlick.  I am rather lazy when it comes to my hair.  But I have learned that feeling a little off kilter for a few days won't kill me.  And that I can get used to things pretty fast.  And that I should never assume a hair stylist will notice a huge cowlick right on the hairline.  Better to point those things out.