Chronicles O-F : A Blog

Yes, it would seem an overly trivial question.

Culturally relevant practices are no longer a priority for me. Not to say that I ever “conformed” to any trends knowingly, but unknowingly I did conform to the aesthetic trend of nonconformity and individualism during my adolescence. Everyone, except for those few abnormally late bloomers, began conforming to some trend in high school. The culprit? Hormones. This idea of a personal image somewhat disintegrated for me over the years, mainly as a result of being in a long comfortable relationship. My “relatively” recent acquisition of “single” status, coupled with an even more recent revelation of personal definition, has me once again contemplating my appearance.

I’ve had long hair since the last half of high school; roughly ten years. And as a result it has become one of my more defining features. Its origins are obvious; my taste in loud, complex music. Once I began furthering my education, though, my reasoning added other elements. It became a tool for a silent battle against social norms. The most prominent being that so many jobs aren’t available to long-haired men, simply because they have long hair. Where is the justification in this? The occupational world seems to be enforced by an outmoded idea of the “suit and tie” intellectual elite. Those with an education had money, power, and a “clean” appearance. This is no longer the case, if it ever was. The intellectuals of the modern world look however they want. It is their minds that matter, not their appearances.

Of course, preferences on personal appearance all boil down to our individual attempts to acquire a mate. Since, of course, I have not reached the level where I could gain a companion based solely on academic accomplishments, I must combine the academic progress I have made with a visually desirable self image. I have found that the people who desire, or even accept, men with long hair, that in turn fit my own preferences on friends and mates, are extremely few in number. I mean, on any given day, depending on the weather or how long it has been since i got a trim, I could either look like a member of a talented and successful band, or a homeless guy. And more often than not, especially if I am too lazy to shave, it always seems to be the latter. This seems to attract the lowest of people, because, apparently it is assumed that I am among those people. So many times have I been the victim of others’ assumptions, which encompass practices and lifestyles I have never been apart of, nor have I ever had an interest in becoming apart of. All this based on my appearance. So, I guess culturally relevant practices ARE in fact a little more relevant to me than I previously thought.

Ah, Frank Zappa. Maybe I should just go with his look.

In recent years I have relished in the thought of becoming a long haired professor that looks like the lead guitarist for a northern European metal band…or maybe is as well. Unfortunately I still have several more years before I gain such an academic career.

What are your opinions? And what should I do with my hair? Or maybe these questions are pointless, and you are just dumbfounded, thinking “Jeez, this guy just wrote an entire essay on contemplating a haircut.”