Traditionally it’s frosh who cut their hair off dramatically, but I guess I wanted to be nontraditional in my head-shaving activities. I have had long hair for a while and I was just feeling ready for a change. Here’s me before:

photo by my friend Nate LeBaron, who takes amazing pictures

I decided to try an intermediate undercut while I’m still young and wild:

Finally, Hell Week came and I decided that the most fun and festive time to go for the big shave. I missed the green days of rowdy performances freshmawr year, so I decided to make an occasion of it– it went on my grandhellee’s schedule to shave my head and I gathered anyone who wanted to join in the campus center. If nothing else, I hoped the peer pressure of a crowd chanting “shave it off!” would ensure that I would stick to my bald guns.

Here’s my grandhellee, Angela, shaving my head, taken by my wonderful bud Isabel Andrews.

I love the bald life! Showering takes five minutes, I don’t have to do anything with it in the morning, and I love the breeze and sunshine on my scalp. I’m reminded of an occasion a few years ago when I had the opportunity to see Morton Feldman’s amazing String Quartet #2 performed live in Phildadelphia. This piece lasts for six hours and, as per much of Feldman’s music, is very slow and meditative. The FLUX Quartet, who were performing the piece with impressive stamina, were stationed in the middle of the cathedral that served as a performance space and the audience was sitting in chairs arranged in a circle around the performers or milling around the space. I remember looking across the room to see two men standing on the other side of the quartet, one of whom was rapturously rubbing the other man’s buzzed head with both hands for quite a long time.

At the time I was confused and even slightly uncomfortable, but now that I’ve been walking around with a buzzed head for a few days, I understand both of these men absolutely. I love how often other people come up to pet my head and have been very impressed at the positive consent practices I’ve seen from other Mawrtyrs. So far it’s been a really fun change.

(library selfies: a grand tradition)