As a year-ender, I decided to give my hair a makeover. I had already grown out the previous color out and wanted something interesting because it's the holidays, my Christmas bonus was just there (waiting to be spent), you know the drill.
Sorry about the mop
And no, this is not me going through a "slightest inconvenience" happening in my life, or so the meme goes:
In fact, even more accurately, it took me a blizzard of major and minor inconveniences to get myself to enter the salon and say "You know what-- I deserve this."
Why did I choose this color in the first place?
I've never been the type to choose non-conventional hair colors. Maybe because I was raised to blend in conventions of the conservative province where I grew up.
"Natural black hair" and a "Maria Clara" appearance are good. Bright hair colors, tattoos and unlady-like gestures are not good... or so my old school relatives, including my mom, used to play on repeat.
Aside from that hurdle, I hesitate because of the not-so-pleasing, exaggerated scenarios of the worst things that could happen to me if I colored my hair in this manner: possible ostracization? societal scrutiny and shunning? Being called to the school head's office for disciplinary action? It's amazing how my head comes up with these almost unlikely scenarios.
But no fret dear readers! Ya girl took the risk: the risk, as per my exaggerated imagination and inner critic has been telling me, of being called out at school or at home, for appearing "un-teacherly" or "unprofessional". The worst that could happen would be being called to the School Head's office carrying the weight of embarrassment or possible "societal shunning" that would come with it, or being called out by my "professional" relatives for not "looking my part" as a "professional". So many quotation marks, I know.
Even though my worries were far from realistic, it can't be helped. I mean, there was even a teacher called out by social media warriors for an uploaded Tiktok video.
Sometimes I get the feeling that there are people who think that being a "professional" means fitting in a mold of what a "professional" is supposed to look like and act like: are they supposed to prance around in formal attire all the time and a god complex, with no sense of individuality?
It's sad when you think about it.
This desire of mine to deviate probably stems from the internal screams of my soul for something new and interesting-- a (literal) pop of color if you will, far from the basic, claustrophobic greying of everyday life demands, routines and responsibilities...
...and my only regret? Is that I didn't do this sooner.
What fictional character do I remind you guys of?
Comment down below.
Roxanne Marie is the twenty-year-old something who calls herself the Protean Creator.
She is a chemical engineer by profession, pole-dancer and blogger by passion and frustration, and lastly, a life enthusiast. She is on a mission to rediscover her truth through the messy iterative process of learning, relearning and unlearning. Currently, she works as a science and research instructor in her hometown, Tagbilaran City, all the while documenting her misadventures, reflections and shenanigans as a working-class millennial here on Hive.
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