new thread
Folks, first of all, merry christmas to you all and your family. I'm just here to share the load of stuff a couple of friends of mine told me some moments ago. Basically, they told I would look better, that girls would fall for me, that I would feel better, the usual crap. They are true friends, I won't stop seeing them, they just think they are helping me. I don't know, I'm going to be 18 next year, I'm going to work soon, I don't know where it all will go. I guess you guys can be more hard on such critics because of your experience. It sounds logical to me, that doors would open if I had a haircut, but it would be betrayal to myself. I knew that this day might come, but I thought I would be preparedfor it. Young people can be tough, damn. Whatever, I just got 4 books of "A Song Of Ice And Fire", plenty of longhairs there to keep me going on. A warm x-mas to you all =)
Happy Christmas etc.
Yes just ignore and if they persist tell them where to go. Were they "true friends" they would not do this again.
Stick with it, they will get used to the idea that you are your own man and the comments should dry up eventually
Cheers
Andy
Andy you have beautiful thick hair, oh yes keep it long you look very handsome with your long thick hair.
Tom(Hairboy) Cincinnati
Thank you Tom, I thought I might look a bit cross in that pic.
Cheers!
Merry Christmas Andy:) Listen, just take those comments in stride as if you feel these people are good friends then I'm sure they think their comments are to help you.Figuring they are short haired they just don't "get it" why some men prefer long hair.It's just too foreign for them as they don't understand why you want so much hair.After all they have been programmed from birth that men must have short hair and women have longhair.Same goes for clothing as a lot of guys I see on the streets look like slobs while the women dress nicely.Guess that's another one of those pre programmed issues!LOL.Oh well without getting too crazy here you enjoy the holiday and wear your beautiful mane with pride:)Cheers my friend
Mark
"It sounds logical to me, that doors would open if I had a haircut, but it would be betrayal to myself."
You hit the nail on the head. No matter how many doors would open (and that's debatable) you will never truly feel satisfied with yourself because your identity will be gone. I know from experience, I cut my hair about a year ago and had it short for 6 months before deciding that I was miserable and stripped of who I felt like and therefore started re-growing. Now that my hair is a bit longer and closer to what it was, I feel that my confidence skyrocketed and I feel happier in all aspects of my life. In the end of the day it is up to you. Think long and hard before making a decision that cannot be reversed.
Anyway Happy holidays and all the best :)
Yea stock with growing the hair, they'll give up eventually. Hell I got that crap for like 3 years before people realized the hair wasn't going anywhere - and now I'm almost to waist length.
Oh and don't believe the "you'll get girls if you cut your hair" crap. I've found the opposite is more often true ;D
Be true to yourself. Then you will learn who your REAL friends are.
I hope my story helps you stick to your guns and grow your hair long NOW, rather than wait until later in your life, as happened to me...
When I was in my teens and 20s, I was too worried and self-sonscious about listening to everybody's "suggestions" to not grow my hair long, because modt people around me at that time were very much against long hair on men. Also my dad did not allow me or my brothers to have long hair when I was growing up in his household -- no choice about the matter, yet I secretly had a burning desire to grow my hair out someday.
In my late 30s was when I felt the best window of opportunity came along for me to finally be able to pursue the dream of having my hair long, as my job had no issue over it -- as well as friends that surrounded me now were different and very supportive, as compared to the old anti-longhair friends I had when I was younger.
I didn't achieve having my first full ponytail until I celebrated my 40th birthday -- a hell of a long time to have to wait for the kind of hair I wanted to have on my own head!!!
If I could do life all over again, the first thing I know for sure I'd do differently is grow my hair out long as a younger man, and just ignore any negative comments from others trying to prevent me. Seriously, this is my advise: JUST DO IT!!! Grow your hair out while you are still young -- a lot of men lose their hair as they reach mid-life; so why not grow it NOW, when your hair is at its fullest, thickest best, rather than wait until you're old & grey and balding or thinning on top? (Not that there is anything wrong with old, grey-haired men having long hair -- like me, for example - LOL -- just that as we age, we realize after-the-fact that golden opportunities often pass us by... and having a great head of gorgeous long hair can be one of them.
You have some other excellent rep[lies, below, so I hope we have given you some great encouragement to just grow now!
"Onward & Downward!"
- Ken in San Francisco
From experience, I've learned that the best way to deal with that stuff is to turn the tables. My sister-in-law just KEPT AT IT, until she finally brought her negative comments directly into my own home during a visit this last September. Now, I'm a pretty tolerant guy, but being insulted in my own home hit my last "hot button." When I finally made it clear that I could care less what she thought of my hair ("I didn't grow it out for you, anyway") as well as my dogs, who she was also griping about, ("They live here, you don't; get over it.") she ended up with me throwing some hypothetical questions at her that she never DID get over. I asked her what her reaction would be if my wife and I were in her home and I decided to say something like, "My stars, Tammy, your hair looks like crap today! I just can't get past it--how bout going in the bathroom and doing something with it so I can stomach it a little better?!" And, YES--that is the exact same way she talked to me. So, I just changed the names and threw it right back at her.
She hasn't spoken to me in three months. Guess she didn't like the taste of her own medicine. Oh, well...
Steve