Let´s say that my hair isn't what it once was. It's not as bad as compared to some of my friends but when I look at some of my old pictures I think: "What the hell happened to that amazing hairline?"
It might have been around my 19th or 20th birthday that I realized my hair was getting weaker. Funny thing about this process of realization. It's gradual and full of denial.
You start by looking around and seeing all these bald spots forming on your friends and think:" Eishh glad I'm not them." But eventually, you finally get confronted with it when a friend finally makes the comment: "Man you are getting bald!".
This prompted me to start paying way too much attention to how I looked and how others would perceive me. I began shaving my hair because I didn't want others to think I was trying to hide anything. In my mind, I was doing it because I didn't care about my baldness so I was going to reveal it to everyone. Plus I didn't have to spend money on haircuts.
But that's exactly what you do when you DO care about it. Recently I guess I came to terms with my baldness. It took me some time do this but the process was quite interesting, juggling social standards and inner judgment.