I shaved off my eyebrows last week and I have zero regrets.
Some people might ask if I’m doing alright or if I’m going through a breakup or some other dramatic scenario, but I promise I’m doing just fine other than the occasional bouts of senioritis that flare up every now and again.
Truthfully, I’ve just been living my new favorite phrase of the year: “How are you going to know what you like and what you don’t without trying something new.”
It wasn’t my intention to have a New Year’s resolution since I don’t really believe in those kinds of things. It just sort of happened on its own.
Earlier this year, I randomly started trying out new restaurants in my hometown and discovering some great restaurants and food places. Even today, I just tried soft shell crabs for the first time, and I ended up liking them so much that I’ll probably get them next week.
But even besides applying this motto to food, I’ve also applied it to other things in my life including some of my favorite things including beauty and fashion.
One day after scrolling through social media and seeing those gorgeous girls with the big lashes, I decided that I was going to master the art of putting on fake eyelashes. Of course, I felt kind of silly the first day wearing them to class after not wearing heavy makeup for four years, yet I received nothing but compliments from my friends and classmates.
Do you know what the “looking glass effect” is?
According to Simply Psychology, “The looking-glass effect is the ideas and feelings that people have about themselves – their self-concept or self-image – that are developed in response to their perception and internalization of how others perceive and evaluate them.”
Basically, we change the way we behave based on how others might think about us.
I learned all that in some AP Psychology course in high school, but I didn’t realize how trapped I was in that kind of mentality until this year.
There was even a time then when I would just refuse to wear traditionally “feminine” clothing just so that I could fit in with the rest of the crowd, but that’s just not me. I love the color pink and sparkly objects attract me like nothing else and that’s just who I am.
I have so many things I want to try in the future from getting my cartilage double pierced to learning how to pole dance and do those fancy stunts on silk ropes that will most likely get me sent to an early death.
The only person I’m put on this earth to please is myself and the people I’m close to. There will always be someone who doesn’t like me and that’s just a fact of life, yet in return, there will also be people who will love me for just simply being myself.
When you learn to stop caring and start trying something new, you might just surprise yourself so why not shave off your eyebrows?
We can even do it together.