Whenever someone asks me what I love most about myself, my go-to answer is always my hair. When I was little, I remember my mom straightening and blow-drying it while topping it off with some accessory before I went to school. She was quick with a hairbrush and strongly emphasized how beautiful I looked when my hair was fixed to perfection. "People pay hundreds for your hair color!" my mom would always say, and it made me fall in love with my auburn locks.

I've been through a multitude of haircuts- bangs, no bangs, short hair, short hair with bangs (this one was horrible... I looked like Coconut Head from Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide- see below)

Melanie McBride

Yeah...

There's one thing all of these haircuts have had in common: They weren't true reflections of who I was or who I wanted to be.

Every haircut I've gotten has been with the consideration of some boy I wanted to impress or a celebrity I wanted to emulate.

Disguised as an attempt to become more confident, these haircuts were just a way for me to hide behind my hair and shy away from who I wanted to be.

I eventually grew out my hair to the middle of my back - the longest it had ever been in my life. I loved my voluptuous locks, and I loved doing my hair every day. The state of my hair determined my mood for the day: if my hair looked good, I felt good. If my hair weren't fixed, I would be lazy for the whole day.

Melanie McBride

My hair had become my one defining factor, and I had started to be obsessed with how long it was.

I decided to bite the bullet and cut it- but this time, it would be for me.

I waltzed into the hairdresser absolutely terrified. What was I going to do if it didn't turn out the way I wanted it? I know hair grows back, but... I ended up cutting 8 inches off, and my hair ended right above my shoulders.

I love it.

I think it represents me in a way that my hair has never managed to before. I hid behind something I now use to boost my confidence in so many other ways.

And in the age of TikTok, I definitely made one for my transformation.

melmcb8 on TikTok

melmcb8 on TikTokvm.tiktok.com

8 inches ! GONE !

So next time you're contemplating making the big cut- make sure the only person you're doing it for is yourself.