Drama haircut by DGWendt

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This occurred when I was 14 years old. I was a high school freshmen at the time.

I was in a drama club production, and we were performing in about 5 days. The character I was playing was kind of an office guy who you'd expect to look professional. He was written in that way to. He was a strict, professional guy. I was able to pull this part off pretty well, except there was one problem; my appearance. Or more specifically, my hair.

I had shoulder length blond hair that I was very proud of. Up until I was around 9, my mother insisted on keeping my hair a buzz cut. She never let it get longer than about 2". When I was 9,She became more lax and I grew it to a sort of bowl cut. I kept the bowl cut for a few years, and when I was 11 I decided I wanted to grow it long. I grew it for a year, from the beginning of sixth grade to the beginning of seventh. After that year my hair was shoulder length. I kept it at that length for the next two years, until 9th grade.

We had been rehearsing for the play for a few months, and the director had told me about a month before this that she wanted me to get a haircut as my long hair really didn't suit the role. I had put it off as long as possible, as I was pretty happy with it as it was, and didn't want to change it. That being said, I wasn't completely opposed to the idea. I had had long hair for a few years now and I did think that changing it might not be the worst thing ever.

Still, I didn't want to cut it short but it looked like I had very little say in the matter. I scheduled an appointment at my local hair salon and went there right after school. My heart was pounding as I walked in, and I almost wanted to back out. I couldn't believe how seriously I was taking this simple haircut, but I couldn't help myself.

I greeted the front desk. "Hi I have an appointment for 3:30" I said.

"Good, your right on time." The desk lady said.

I waited a minute for my stylist to call me in. The minute felt like 100 years. Finally she called my name and I entered the room and sat down in the chair. She draped a barber cape over me and said "Okay so what can I do for you?"

I showed her the picture I had brought. It was of a guy who had his hair cropped to 3/4" on the sides and about 3" on top. The hair on top was slicked back.

"Give me a scissor cut version of this." I said

I did not want her to use clippers. I hated clippers. They made me feel really uncomfortable.

"Okay, no time to waste." she said.

I really liked this barber. She never asked me questions like "are you sure?" or made comments like "that's pretty drastic." when cutting my hair. If she had asked me if I was sure that I wanted my hair cut short I might have backed out.

She got out her scissors and began cutting the hair on the back of my head. I felt my neck becoming exposed, a sensation I had not experienced in a while. She made quick work of the hair around my neck and ears. I admired how quickly she had done it. She began cutting my bangs. I didn't usually wear my bangs in my face. I usually had them parted to both sides, but when I did put them in my face, they nearly touched my mouth. She cut them until they just touched my eyebrow, and then slicked them back like in the picture.

"Okay I think you're good." she said.

She handed me a mirror and I examined my new look. I had to admit, it looked pretty nice. It wasn't super short or anything, but it was short enough to look professional. It fit my character pretty well. I thanked the barber, payed, and headed out the door. I went to the high school where we were having a dress rehearsal. My fellow cast members complemented me on my new look.

I had fairly mixed feelings about it. On one hand it did look pretty nice, and I noticed that I didn't need to lather and rinse twice when in the shower like I did with the long hair. On another hand, I had been pretty proud of my long hair and It felt kind of like something was missing from me when it was gone.

After about a week The look started growing on me. People said I looked taller with the haircut, and I kind of agreed. I have always been pretty short, and at this time I was only 5'2, making me one of the shortest guys in my class, so I was pleased that the haircut made me look taller.

I was kind of torn between wanting to grow it out again and wanting to keep it short, but I decided to try keeping the short hair at least a little longer.

The next time I got it cut was about 5 months later. By this time it was covering about 60 percent of my ear and the bangs covered my eye. I felt a little more courageous after getting it cut short last time, so it decided to let the barber use clippers this time. I ended up having it cut to about 1" on the sides and 3" on top. I kept it at this length until, at the start of my junior year, I decided to try getting a buzz cut. I was going to the barber for a trim but decided I was in the mood for a change and got a 3/4" buzz cut. I liked it, and kept it through my junior year.

I senior year I decided to try growing it out again. I had kept it short since freshmen year and decided I would like to revisit it. By the end of the year my hair had grown down to my shoulders. I liked it okay, but not so much that I wanted to keep it in the years to follow. I cut it off shortly after graduation, and have since kept it in a formal slicked back style, around 4" all around. I may grow long hair again some day, but I'm happy with it as it is now.

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