Youth Radio’s Stella Lau expected her personality to change, accompanying her haircut.
You know how in movies, when a girl gets a haircut and then has this 360 life transformation? I tried doing that, but it didn’t really work.
I used to associate pixie cuts with soccer moms and punk kids. Then I saw a picture of Beyonce with a pixie cut. She was just bleeding confidence, and I wanted to emulate that. But since she’s Beyonce and I’m me, I wasn’t sure whether I could pull it off.
At the end of the day I decided to just go for it. Half an hour and 12 inches of hair later, I left the salon with almost a buzzcut.
I expected to feel like this super-cool and confident person. But inside, I felt like an awkward pubescent boy. I thought that getting a haircut was going to magically make me be comfortable with myself. But it turns out learning to love yourself goes way deeper than just hair.
Changing my physical appearance can only do so much. But true confidence–like Beyonce-level confidence–is about having self-respect and learning not to rely on other people’s approval. And that’s something I’m still working on.