I Performed a Post-Breakup Hair-Burning Ritual With My Friends
We all have the power to transform the mundane into something memorable
I am prone to unrest and occasionally like to invite chaos into my life. So when two of my girlfriends and I were simultaneously going through heartbreak, I devised a plan: we would cut and dye our hair, burn the scraps in a firepit, and speak our goals into existence over the flames while passing a bottle of Snoop Dogg’s 19 Crimes. Like phoenixes, we’d rise from the ashes as brand new women — or something like that.
Reality had me squatting over a firepit with an electric lighter, attempting to set flame to a pile of hair symbolically doused in wine. In case anyone else was unaware, wine does not catch fire (use 80-proof liquor instead).
It’s not every day that friends willingly participate in my ideas. As punishment for losing a game, I once suggested locking the losers in a pitch-black shed while the winning team circles the perimeter with torches. I thought it was hilarious, and my friends all agreed — up until the losing team was determined.
To my surprise, my girlfriends were committed to the hair-burning ritual. We managed to turn a paper bag into kindling and got a small fire going. We passed a bottle, a joint, and took turns sharing…
