28 May Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
Me, between 3 and 4 years old.
People only get to see a small part of you when they first meet you or just pass you by on the street. People look at me and see this friendly and fit Asian guy riding down the street without a care in the world, while in reality, I have hundreds of things going on mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Before I decided to go on this once-in-a-lifetime journey out of my typical comfort zone, my thoughts growing up was along the same line as most people: you go to school, collect your degrees, find a job, buy a car, buy a house, meet a partner, marry that partner, have kids, watch your kids grow up, and finally retire. I was on this path for 37 years. It was ingrained in me to do very well in school and be the first to graduate from college. I concentrated very hard to find a good job and felt that I accomplished that. I bought my house and met someone really specially who I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with. I was living the life that everyone perceives as “normal,” or at least I was on the path most people travel on.
Life Happens
Teaching kids for Junior Achievements – June 12, 2009
Obviously, things happen along the way that completely annihilates the very foundation that you have so carefully built year after year. That event for me was the passing of my father. Up until that point, my thoughts and goals remained constant as it had been for 35 years. This made me really think about what was important to me and what kind of legacy I would like to leave behind. This made me realize that as I was moving through life, I was missing out on the smaller, but more meaningful things in life and missing out on doing things that I was happy doing, like going on my bike tours and spending time with my family and friends. Going back to the basics, I decided I needed to reconfigure my life and rebuild my foundation once again, but this time with a conscious effort to bring harmony in all aspects of my life.
Haircut?
Hanging out at the LA Food Event – October 26, 2008
So what does this have anything to do with my new haircut? My hair and the way I styled or cut it really defined who I was. Some people put emphasis on this one thing in their life, starting from grade school all the way to professional life. To fit into society, whether it is in school or at work, you had to keep your hair style neat and clean. For the most part, I’ve conformed and obliged to this hidden rule in life. I kept my hair clean and cut. I even went outside my comfort zone and let it grow out long. It initially began as a cultural practice after my grandmothers’ passings in the early 2000, where I wasn’t suppose to cut my hair for a year, but I decided to just let it continue growing. I decided that I would grow it out to the minimum length in which I can donate my hair to help make wigs for people who need it during their cancer treatment. As soon as I donated my hair, I went back to the clean cut look for some time.
Life Marker
When my friends told me to just shave everything off, I quickly brushed that away as that would be too extreme. I’ve never shaved my head before. This was out of my comfort zone. But the more I thought about it, the more this aligned with my new life. I wouldn’t have to go to the barber as I can shave my own head. I don’t need to buy anymore hair products. I can wear all the hats I wanted to. It’ll be cooler, temparature-wise, during the summer. I don’t have to sleep with wet hair again. The only downside for me was my own mental barrier in which I was worried about the way people thought about me and the shape of my head. For some reason, I thought my head was going to be lopsided. About a week before my last day at work, I decided this was going to happen. The day after my last day, my sister took the clippers my dad used to shave his own head in the past and buzzed away my locks of hair.
One Less Worry
Sedona – May 20, 2014
Even though shaving my head is a perfect way to start a new chapter in life, it was also one of the most outrageous thing I’ve ever done. Much like how I decided to quit a well paying job to reboot my career. It’s a new philosophy or thought process I am adopting where I am going to do what I want to do without worrying about what others think or say. As long as I am comfortable in my own skin and remain happy with what I am doing, I am going to constantly change or not change. This is a very empowering realization that I have the choice to do whatever I want. Taking that first step is usually the hardest part, so here I am a few steps into it. My only problem now is to remain focused and motivated.
Have you done anything out of the ordinary and not care what others say? Please share in the comments below. I would love to hear about your acts of courage.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.