Hair In Elementary School

Looking back at elementary school, I realize I made many poorly thought through mistakes just for the sake of fitting in. I never put into perspective how these actions would change my attitude towards others and my own self-esteem. Probably, the most impactful of these mistakes was when I decided to have my hair cut short. When I was at Mariposa Elementary School, I always wanted to fit in. I wanted to have what the other, more popular girls had, play with what they played with, wear what they wore, and watch what they watched. I knew that I was strange, and it bothered me at the time. In fourth grade, some of my “friends” who had long, straight hair came to school with their hair cut in a bob. The students, including myself, noticed these changes quickly, and we acknowledged and complimented the girls with praises of their style. I observed that they looked neat with their hair short, and I felt increasingly pressured to chop off mine for the purpose of receiving the same recognition. It is only now that I realize that the girls who cut their hair at the time were as desperate to fit in as I was. Finally, I approached my mother with the request to let me cut my hair short. She was shocked to say the least, as I had repeated to her multiple times I wanted to grow out my hair. We went to the closest Fantastic Sam’s about two days later. The
I looked like I was from the 1980s, with a gigantic pom-pom on the front of my head. In seventh grade, I became extremely annoyed with my fluffy bangs, so I skewed them to the side and pinned them. This tactic was effective for about a month, until, consequently, I looked like a female version of President Donald Trump. Eventually, I figured out a way to make my hair look average, but I could have avoided the struggle if I didn’t give in to the pressure to