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I think it definitely helps one's self-confidence.
I agree with you and add that it is an important part of self esteem if long hairs is important for us. The self image is one of the main aspect of confidence and this is why I think that every one should be "allowed" to be as he or she feels to be.
Personaly, I have recover a lot of self esteem since I have decided to let grow my hairs despite all the pressure that I had to "cut them clean". I do not avoid the mirrors like I use to do before.
The more there will be of us long hairs and the less we will bother by those close minded people.
Jean
Just consider the Biblical story of Samson!
Just out of curiosity, what industry do you work in? I'm getting my engineering degree in May and am currently looking at jobs. Being Choctaw Indian myself, I'm not willing to part with my hair for the sake of an interview.
MJ
brought up during the interview with me that I had to get my hair cut. I didn't (I had my a 70's hairstyle, barely over my collar in the back and over the ears on the sides)!!! I didn't get either job. But then I interviewed for state government jobs and got selected as the candidate for three positions, without cutting my hair. I had my choice which job I wanted. I studied and passed the EIT and PE (Civil) registration exams. I wish you the best of luck in finding aa engineering position without having to cut your hair (your strength). I will pray for you. What type of engineer are you studying? Civil, Electrical, Mechanical?
I'm in industrial engineering. Our graduating class in my major at my college is only 10 students, and at the beginning of the year I was one of two longhairs in the group. The other one cut his hair off for an interview. I interviewed with the same employer with my hair, naturally, quite long. He was turned down, I got a second interview and recently set up the third interview and have good hopes of getting an offer. On the second interview I noticed one of their employees with a beard and long ponytail, and no one mentioned my hair except to tell me to tuck it under my hardhat when I was out in the work area. This particular company makes a big deal about being completely profit-oriented and merit-based, which bodes well. So I'm hopeful on it. Anyway, thanks for the answer- good to hear there are other longhaired engineers out there.
MJ
It isn't worth losing it for any reason what so ever.
GRANNY HERE...
As a child, my mother always wanted my hair, short, curled,"manageable"...
I did the natural thing, I rebelled, an' when I left home, I let my hair grow 'n flow...
When my firstborn, thought he'd rebell, and told me, he was not cutting his hair, I said fine, it could grow to longer than mine, just as long as he kept it clean,(we both worked on cars, 4 survival,'n as a hobby)...
I am 64, 'n STILL HAVE LONG FLOWING LOCKs, and it is STILL DARK BROWN... must be the german/english, and a touch of indian...
jeanne, as...ms meanne
Yes! Such wisdom. We finally know what so many cultures have known
for eons. I wore my hair in G.I. and Corporate cuts for 50 years before thinking it through and letting it grow.
I went back to college and finished university and graduate school
with straight A's, scholarships, honors, and distinction. I don't recall any particular extra effort...just the confidence of being who I am, a proud man of Viking Scot ancestry.
I work as a counselor, so folks allow some eccentricity of hair and dress, but I've never had to explain my hair at any job interview, and there have been many in the last six years...even when I'm working, I'm looking.
I've worked on prison yards, in probation offices, residential treatment, outpatient treatment, detox units, psychiatric wards, hospitals, and crisis centers....never a negative comment on my hair.
My guess is that it tells clients that I have enough confidence to be myself...which is often reassuring to people in need of help.
Letting my hair grow, and be natural, has been one of the best decisions of my life. Long hair is associated with strength, confidence, and spirituality in many cultures.
When I let my hair grow, I did not become someone else....I became my true self!
Cheers! I too am a proud decendant of Swedish Viking warriors.
Kilgore
It's true! Many world cultures believe in the power of long hair for both men and women, especially for men!!!
Many Indian tribes do not believe in cutting hair except if mourning. Some Plains tribes gave captured enemies a buzzcut! This is why the Indian schools' standard policy was to whack off the kids' hair... and why the kids were so horrified.
The Rastafarians believe that long hair in dredlocks -- long hair, washed but never cut or combed -- is your "antenna to God". Male Rastas with beautiful dredlocks are often called "lions" like the Lion of Judah that they believe.
Duncan MacLeod of "Highlander" wears his hair in a correct style for men from the Scottish Highlands centuries ago. "Real men" never cut their hair in those days. Neither, of course, did the Vikings.
It sort of becomes your lion's mane. Never let anyone tell you that "real men" wear their hair short. Look at the short-haired guys.. they're almost like tame animals, wearing their suits and driving their Sentras and going to work in those cubicles like Dilbert.
The rebels, the bikers, a lot of construction workers, rougher guys, wilder guys, they don't cut their hair.
"The strength of the lion makes him king of beasts, and the great ruff of his mane is the mark of his power. Among my people, they say that the strongest ram has the heaviest wool. But clip the mark of his power, shear him and he becomes a thing to laugh at. You've seen the eagle climb the sky, but clip the two prime feathers from the tip of one wing, and the mighty eagle can no longer fly. The mark of his power is gone." - "Samson and Delilah"
That's how I feel about it; it is the shield of my strength.
BlueJay Barnes
Didn't Einstein have Long hair?