Last December, I cut off all my hair. Ok, I’ll be honest, I didn’t pull a full Britney and cut off all my hair, but I did make a pretty drastic change. I went from long luscious locks (AKA a longhaired dead animal attached to my head that I did nothing but straighten into dried spaghetti for five years) to a pixie cut. It’s been seven months since I went short, and it’ll be a long time before I go back. I know you love your short hair too, and here’s why:

1. You can now get ready for the day in a half-an-hour, total.

Class at 1:00? 12:30 it is.

2. Having a bad hair day? Throw on a beanie!

3. Since your haircut is more sophisticated, you now attract much more sophisticated dates.

Sometimes this means being mistaken for (or correctly identified) as a lesbian, but it really just means you no longer are hit on by less than desirable mates. Good if you are a lesbian, good if you aren’t.

4. Have a baby face? Suddenly no one mistakes you for a middle schooler anymore.

5. Going for a drive in a convertible? Don’t even worry about your hair getting tangled.

Thank God you don't have to make that face anymore either, now that you don't have to brush your hair.

6. You can say “short hair, don’t care” even though you’re not really sure what it means.

7. You can exercise without having to put your hair up or worrying about it getting messy.

LOL you thought I exercised. What I really meant was that you can nap without tangling your hair.

8. Your bedhead looks rock n’ roll and you can pretend it was on purpose.

Dry shampoo never felt so good.

9. You can dye it and cut it more often and in ways you’d never do if you had long hair.

I think I’ll go blue this week.

10. You’ve become the “girl who can pull off short hair” which feels awesome.

Wait a second, am I cool now?

11. People think you’re brave, even though you probably just got too lazy for long hair.

I hate to break it to you, but kids with cancer and marines are brave. I just told my hairdresser Abbie I wanted a pixie cut. It was pretty easy, actually.

12. You save tons of money on shampoo and conditioner.

Except now you spend that money on cute hair accessories, so you don’t actually save money, but you can say you do.

13. Headbands and little bows look adorable now.

See above. You won’t be able to control yourself.

14. Your hair doesn’t get stuck in your lipstick anymore.

You now don’t have any excuse to not wear lipstick. Sorry, not sorry.

15. You feel sassy and confident and powerful.

My best friend told me I looked like Julie Andrews, and I felt like a fairy. You know you do too.

All jokes aside, cutting my hair has truly changed my life. I’ve become so much more confident, poised, and sure of myself since going short.

My oldest best friend gave me quite the compliment last week. She said, “Grace, you’re just so much more you. You’re not hiding behind your hair anymore, and you’ve really just blossomed into your yoga loving, vegetable eating, edgy self.”

Other than the fact that I am definitely not edgy (but thanks for trying), she’s right. My hair has truly turned me into a new person. It’s become a vehicle to my confidence, and ultimately to my happiness. But my hair doesn’t just make me feel good about myself; it has made me become myself.

So go ahead, my lovely longhaired friends. Cut your hair. You know you want to. And maybe, just maybe, it will be the best choice you ever make.

Me, and one of the prettiest people I know, one day before the haircut.

Me, looking silly and pretending to be a model, but feeling rad as hell with short hair.