I used to be an adventurer like you... until I shaved my beard off. Actually, nope, still an adventurer.
At some really late hour today that I shouldn't mention for fear of giving away my terrible sleeping habits. (It was 12PM.) I got out of bed and took a picture of the woolly mammoth I had become in 4 months of prolonged hair growth. And then I had it cut off. Why? Because I realized that having that much hair is IRRITATING. My proudest congratulations to my women readers dealing with that on a daily basis. I commend you. Because it gets hot, itchy, takes forever to dry and causes weird habits. Especially the beard.
If you're wondering why then, did I allow my hair to grow as it did? Quite simply, because it was the first time I'd ever really had the opportunity to do so. (That and some notion in the back, front and sides of my head about growing a Norse Beard and putting purple highlights in my hair. I still say that would've looked cool.) But moving on, the South African education system demands a certain standard of appearance... which is to say you can't look like anything other than each other. Cut your hair, shave and wear the school uniform properly. And to a degree I believe that those requirement are entirely justified in raising upstanding children. But it also means we're all going to let ourselves go when we matriculate simply because we've never had the opportunity to do so before.
So what can I take away from my near half year of Wookie kinship? Hmmm a couple things. Firstly, people are scared of beards. I felt many a shifty glance from security guard and pedestrian alike simply due to my voluminous locks (and fuzz). That didn't bother me overly much, minus the fact that women are more likely to scream out "help" when you want to ask for their number, but that might be unrelated... Moving on.
Secondly, in case you weren't aware, hair on your face can get rather out of control. I actually found myself combing my beard into place in the morning as much as my actual head hair. So that was an interesting experience and also fairly ticklish.
And lastly, having long hair is, again, rather irritating for a couple of reasons. Whether it be the extended drying period, the knots, the people fearing for their lives or the fact that you unconsciously play with it CONSTANTLY, it matters not, the fact is, I'm truthfully glad it's gone.
My advice to any would be beard growers reading this, do it. Certainly. I live by the philosophy of trying anything twice and think it is an extremely liberating way to live. Just don't expect your face to be very comfortable...
That's enough about beards from me. Hope you all have a lovely day and thank you for reading.
Ciao miei amici.
