My hair has always been a source of confidence for me, as I believe it enhances my appearance. I was blessed at birth with a thick head of dark brown hair, and while I have dyed it lighter in the past, on whole I love my hair and its color, and rarely have ever complained about bad hair days.

This being said, haircuts, in my opinion, are somewhat my enemy. Not a bitter foe, but certainly not something I jump at doing every two weeks. Here is my story:

When I was 11 years old, my mother decided it would be a “cute” idea to cut my hair into a pixie cut. Maybe it was because she was tired of brushing my longer, down -my- back hair, or maybe it was the fact that she believed short hair was just simply my look, either way it was done on one fateful afternoon, and I have been scarred because of it ever since. I was in that prime time to be self conscious about myself, and had also recently gotten a set of braces. Plain and simple, I looked like a boy. My only redeeming grace were my pierced ears. Since that fateful day of my pixie cut, I have kept my hair ponytail length.

Today, my fascination with long hair is going to be thrown into the fire, as I get ready to cut my hair for the benefit of Locks of Love. Locks of Love is a non-profit organization that collects human hair to make wigs for medically sick children who suffer from hair loss due to an illness. Started in 1997, by Madonna Coffman, a retired nurse who lost her hair after getting a Hepatitis vaccine, Locks of Love is coming to Villanova today through the efforts of Up ‘Til Dawn.

Now, getting 10 inches of my hair, cut off is going to be an interesting change for me, a girl who has taken the hair-over-the-shoulder flip to a new level. Believe me, as I have grown older and become more in tune with the male sex, I have found most men find long hair on women a turn on. This simple sign of femininity because most guys don’t have longer hair, is a source of sex appeal for many men.

But as I look back on my decision to take part in this fundraiser, I am excited to get a new style and help out the children at the same time. Knowing that a child will benefit from my haircut today makes taking the leap into short hair well worth it.

For me and other ‘Nova students cutting their hair today, this can be seen as just another hair cut as we have the assurance that our hair will grow back, but for the many children who will be receiving the wigs made from the collection of the Villanova hair, it is more than just a routine hair cut, it is a gift and a smile, and I am glad to do it, even if it means another pixie cut for me.