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Passion's Silver Lining

I have been going to the same hairdresser for seventeen years, just two blocks from my home. I really like Joe, and he seems to like visiting with me. (Not to mention he does a really good job on my hair!) For years, I colored my hair and visited with Joe for 90 minutes every four weeks while he kept me beautiful.

The day came a few years ago, just after the holidays, when I was stressed out at my retail job. It seemed like the entire staff I managed called out sick for weeks. I kept running harder and harder with less and less sleep until finally I became ill as well. Martyrdom kicked in, and I kept showing up until I got a rash on my head with burning, painful, aching sores. The childhood illness chicken pox had re-surfaced as shingles.

I sent myself home for a week to recover, but shingles can linger for quite a while. Luckily, most of the sores were hidden in my scalp. There was just one on my forehead covered by my short side bang.

Before my scheduled appointment, I called Joe and told him my dilemma. I was concerned about passing shingles to him as they can be contagious if you touch the sores and have not had chickenpox. Joe agreed to keep our appointment, and I declined to color my hair for the first time in many years.

I had often thought of letting my hair grow into its natural color, but feared I would look old. Meanwhile, I would sing and dance with India Arie when she randomly appeared on Pandora:

I am not my hair

I am not this skin

I am not your expectations no no

I am not my hair

I am not this skin

I am a soul that lives within

I felt a sense of pride and power… and kept coloring my hair, because that’s what we women do. But now, I had an excuse to make a choice!

In time, a beautiful silver line appeared on the top of my head, and I smiled. I allowed it to grow and adorn the top of my head. It felt powerful to embrace part of who I am. For three years now, I’ve been silver!

In 2017, it became trendy for younger women to purposely dye their hair gray. In 2018, the stylish color to be is—silver! I get compliments on my short, sassy silver locks from folks I don’t even know. Who knew?

This week I saw a photo of Gloria Steinem with her long, gray hair on the blog Not Dead Yet Style with the caption:

Women grow radical with age. One day an army of gray-haired women may quietly take over the Earth.

Looking back, this choice of hair color was a step toward releasing fear, embracing creativity, and breaking what had been my everyday expectations. Who knew that three years later, I would be a year into following my passion pursuing an artist’s career?

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