Looking in the mirror yesterday morning, I wished I could cut my own hair. Then I wouldn’t have to go to the barber, or beg my roommate to help out. Maybe I should try it out myself.

See, this wasn’t always a thing. In Nigeria, I had haircuts weekly or every 2 weeks — depending on free time, and need. The price was negligible, so I’d never had to budget for a haircut. It’s been about 3 years, and $20-$30 haircuts add up. Now I avoid going into the barbershop twice in one calendar month.

At some point, I realized that some guys simply cut their own hair. My cousin could and the convenience wasn’t lost on me, plus the time and cost savings. So far I’d been able to manage shaving and doing a little side fade with my clippers.

It’s Tuesday and I need to be in the office by afternoon, so there are only a few hours to sort out this hair. I grab the clippers and get to work. It’s somewhat straightforward — set the comb, trim the hair in an area to that level, repeat accordingly. Halfway into it I realize that any mistakes will have me looking like a mad man for the rest of the day (at least).

Murphy’s law holds up because as I round up, the comb slips off and the naked blade runs through my hair, leaving a stroke that’s lower than everything else. Although the hair looks fine from a distance, a close look shows this and some people at work were only too happy to point it out.

Yesterday I cut my hair for the first time. It wasn’t perfect, and the worst almost happened, but I learned how to do it and get better.

Sneaky feeling: this might be a great way to figure stuff out — Doing it. Here’s what Shia LaBeouf says. I just might agree.