Hair is just hair, right? That's what your hair stylist says when they cut a few inches off. Hair is just hair. But is it really? Is hair JUST hair? As a woman, a mixed woman at that, I have always felt like my hair was my identity. My hair represented who I was. My curly locks were what made me African American, and my smooth texture is what made me Caucasian. My afro showed the world how proud I was, and my blue highlights expressed my wild spirit. My length made me feminine and beautiful. My hair was my everything. It always has been. Until recently...

I've noticed that my hair has started meaning less and less to me. A few months ago I shaved the side of my head. It was such a huge deal, seeing half of my fro on the floor of the barber shop. After all of the cutting and styling was done, I LOVED it! I felt like such a bad-ass. I loved it so much that recently I shaved the other side off too! So right now, both sides of my head are shaved, and the back, so I only have hair on the crown of my head. It may sound crazy, but it's actually pretty cute. The best part of it all-I feeling so beautiful with so little hair on my head!

For women, I feel like hair, beauty, and especially femininity are all connected. Long, voluminous hair is automatically viewed as beautiful. But a woman with short hair, like a pixie cute maybe, might be viewed as less feminine and less beautiful. I'm here to tell you that hair really is just hair. Your hair does not define your beauty, it does not measure your femininity, and it definitely doesn't make you any less of a great person if your hair isn't "on fleek."

To be completely honest, I don't think I've ever felt more beautiful, more strong, and more feminine than I do now, with barely any hair on my head. I feel more like, me, like Alexis, than I have in a long time. I realized that I was hiding behind things like hair and makeup and clothing. I was relying on those things to show the world, and even myself, that I was a beautiful woman. But at the end of the day, none of those things matter. Your confidence, your beauty, those things come from what's inside. You can have the longest hair, the most fashionable feminine clothing, but if you're a bum on the inside you're still going to exude that bum energy.

I just wanted all the women out there to know that you hair does not have to define you anymore. Whether you're rocking your natural hair, a wig, or even no hair at all, you are still a beautiful, wonderful woman on the inside. Let her shine through all of those materialistic things. Let the amazing woman inside of you out. Walk with your head up,no matter how your hair looks today.