Tuesday, July 23, 2013

On Being Brave. {& Haircuts--kinda}

I am really shy. Because of that I am always really impressed with people who can start {and carry on} a conversation with just anyone they meet.

For the past few weeks I was trying to figure out where to get my hair cut {I got a pixie cut and those are a little scary--especially when you don't have a hair dresser you know you love}. I was constantly on the lookout for people with cute pixies so that I could ask them who cuts their hair. None of my Idaho friends have short hair and my ward here is pretty  heavy on the elderly population {we have FOUR retirement communities in our ward boundaries} so I didn't really know where to start. I wanted something really cute and chic {what does chic really mean?}--not a "mom" or "grandma" haircut.

I started to keep my eyes peeled whenever I left the house. I didn't see much when I went out but I can honestly say I didn't look that hard because I knew I wouldn't be brave enough to actually walk up to some random stranger and first, compliment them on their cute hair and second, ask them who cuts it. So I set up an appointment with a recommendation from a friend of a friend and hoped for the best.

The night before the appointment Holland and I were wandering around Target when I saw a really cute, stylish girl {for some reason the stylish part was pretty important to me} with a really cute pixie cut. I just knew that I had to get up the nerve to ask her about it. I walked by her a few times and was about to walk away without asking when suddenly she was walking right towards me! I HAD to ask her.

So I did. I stopped her, complimented her on her cute hair, and asked her who did it. She told me how she had gotten it done at a nearby beauty school and hated it so she cut it herself and then enrolled herself in beauty school!

Ever since this happened I have been thinking about it a lot. I loved learning about this random girl's life. I know I just learned this one little thing but if I hadn't complimented her on her hair and talked to her for a whole one minute I wouldn't even know that. In fact, I probably wouldn't think about the cute girl with the pixie haircut again.

People are so much more real and memorable when you know something about them. I want the people I'm around to be real to me. I want to know more about the people I come in contact with throughout my life. I have my close friends and family that I know so much about but I think I often I forget to interact with all of the other real people around me.

Even though it was something so small I am grateful I was brave and I really feel like I was rewarded with a piece of that girl's story. I think I need to always be on the lookout for something to ask strangers about. I need more random conversations in my life! What about you? When was the last time you had a conversation with a stranger? Did you start it or did they? Did you think about it much afterwards or am I just weird like that? 

Some Other Random Notes:
-In about six months I will be going to that cute girl to get my hair cut!! I got her information and I am so excited to have her start doing my regular trims!
-Now that I have a pixie cut I see girls with pixies ALL. THE. TIME. {go figure} and I feel a special kinship with them. I'm not sure if it's reciprocated but that's okay! :]
-And a couple questions for any hairdressers out there--Do you like to carry on a conversation while you are cutting a client's hair? And do you usually initiate the conversation or does the client?

Here is my hair for those of you who haven't seen it on Instagram yet.