3000 miles and 9 weeks later I am a different person. The fact that I biked across the country seems unreal to me. At the time it seemed like it lasted forever (and if it would have lasted forever… that would have been completely fine with me!) But looking back on it, it seemed like it only lasted about a week or so… seriously.
I started out biking to raise money for the mission trip and it turns out I had more success raising money by shaving my head bald just before that. I will eventually blog about my bike trip, but I felt like sharing another story today. It’s about my fresh haircut!
I learned a few things from my new look. First and foremost – I have a nicely shaped head! But more importantly, I got the chance to observe how the world treated me when I looked different. I was constantly being stared at because I was a bald female. I could tell people were wondering what reason I had to shave my head. Was I crazy? Did I have cancer? Was I trying to look like a man?
My favorite look was the one I got from the older generation. They stared and I could tell they were thinking “What has this world come to?” It was as if they were disappointed in my age group. This was my favorite look because it reminded me that what I was doing was awesome and that over the next year and a half I would have the chance to touch so many lives and that there was no reason for anyone to be disappointed in my generation… the funny thing is, these people would never know that.
Honestly, I appreciated it when people would just come out and ask me… what’s up with the haircut? I wonder why everyone’s life has to be a huge secret. Sometimes we are so quick to judge someone when we know nothing about them. Countless people looked at me like I was crazy.
One kid pointed at me and said to his mother “that lady has no hair!” She quickly told her son to be quiet – that he was being rude. I didn’t feel embarrassed or ashamed. I felt sorry that I couldn’t share an amazing story with them. I wish his mother wasn’t around. I could have told him how I gave up something I loved about myself for a greater cause. I could have told him how everyone has a story. I could have told him that I was riding my bicycle across the country after not having ridden more than a few miles at one time in a day and that he too could do what he thought was impossible. I could have told him all about looking past yourself and that a haircut does not define who you are – not matter how much importance other people will place on it.
I’m not the only one with a story behind my looks. Today I encourage you to get to know someone. Have you ever had a first impression of someone that you found out later was wrong? How about a friend that acts a certain way and you find yourself telling other people that there is a reason behind why that person is so shy or why that person does things a certain way.
We all have a story and it makes life so beautiful. No one person is required to act or look a certain way. My hair has grown a little now and I no longer look like a cancer patient, but I do look like a gay female. And still, that’s fine with me because I don’t place my self worth in what others think of me. I’m defined by who’s I am… not who I am.
