Thank God I had my Long Hair to Cover all That

By Gabriela Balayla, 18

I faced the fear of cutting my hair short, but for me, it was way more than that.

My whole life I felt the need of losing weight. Feeling comfortable with myself was something I couldn’t reach if I didn’t feel skinny. I also come from a pretty big family with a pretty big appetite. Overweight was always a huge part of my life that took over most of my decisions towards absolutely everything. I was always skinnier on top and chubbier from my waist down, but I was still chubby everywhere. Thank god I had my long hair to cover all that.

Since I was little, I’ve always felt that a bob-cut hairstyle would look awesome on me. I wanted it so badly that I would constantly play with my hair in the mirror so that it looked short and I absolutely loved it. But since my long hair covered my neck and arms I didn’t even consider going for it. This is something I’ve been asking myself for years. Would it really look that bad? Is it worth the try? Is it going to make me look twice my size? I never did it, and never thought I would.

A couple months ago, I made the decision of finally getting stomach surgery and start a whole new chapter of my life, which I think was the biggest fear I’ve faced, EVER. As I lost weight, little by little I started feeling much better in many ways, but then again, I was still not ready to mess with what has always been my comfort zone.

Until last week, when I looked at myself in the mirror and decided that I wanted the haircut more than my comfort. So I told myself that my arms and neck will be fine and just went for it. I donated 10 inches of my hair to children in the organization Locks of Love, and it felt great. I feel great.

This reminded me the importance of not limiting our lives by our comfort zones, and how awesome it feels to be able to get out of it. So from now on, I always will.

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