“Why the change?”: Why do I need a reason for a haircut?

So I cut my hair off a few months ago. Last year, actually. During the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. My office in Manhattan had no electricity or phones for a week, so I had no day job. I had some free time on my hands. The subways weren’t back up and running yet, either, so it was almost impossible to go anywhere far. So I walked down the street to the house of a friend who is a hair stylist, and had her chop most of my hair off. Cause why not?

But then the reaction from other people–friends, family, coworkers–was crazy. Everyone I saw felt the need to comment on it. For months. Ok, for the first few days after a major look change, I expect people to mention it. But after a few weeks, like… dude. I cut my hair. Get over it. But just today I had someone comment on it. It’s been literally six months.

Wait, no, they didn’t comment. They asked about it. Because that’s what people always do. They ask. “Why the big change?” “What made you cut it?” and so on.

This I do not understand. What, I need a reason to change my hairstyle? Are they expecting me to say, “Well I had a major psychic break and shaved it all off in a moment of Britney Spears angst, but thankfully I was committed to an institution for a while as it grew back to a more normal length”? Or, “I didn’t think the world was respecting my butchness enough”? Or, “Because my religion is against hair”? I mean, what? What is the “reason” I’m supposed to have?

Seriously. What reason does anyone ever have for changing their appearance in a superficial way? “I bought a green dress because I realized that purple dye seeps into my skin and causes me to undergo a profound physical change into a blueberry.” “I got highlights put in my hair because the sameness of color was killing me.” “The idea of not being tan for a day longer caused me to hyperventilate and pass out on public transportation, so I went tanning.” Like… WTF.

I guess sometimes people make changes because of something profound in their identity/life/world. But for the most part… I just get bored looking the same all the time.

Ok. Sorry. /rant.

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