A few months ago, I decided to do something I've been wanting to for many years: cut my hair. Now, I never cut my hair in high school because I had low confidence in high school, especially about my looks. I didn't know how to do makeup, I didn't have thick, beautiful hair, and I didn't wear clothes people loved. You know, everything that matters in high school that will not matter in college because everyone shows up in their pajamas.

So one day I went in, much to some people's disapproval, and I chopped off my hair, and it was the most liberating thing I've ever done. Every inch of my hair was shorter, there was hair I didn't even knew I had all over the floor, and I didn't even see it until the final product. When I looked in the mirror, I absolutely fell in love with it. It was edgy, it felt like me, I felt confident and it made me love my reflection. I came home and to surprise my family liked it and my boyfriend loves it. I went to work and posted on Facebook, and many people thought it was extremely...cute. No. I didn't want cute, but I'll take it. So for a couple months now I've had very short hair, and of course, there's been some backlash.

People have "accused" me of being a dyke, a word that shouldn't even exist, or just being someone who goes against the mainstream for attention. This worsened when I got my tattoos, including one on my forearm that doesn't cover up with most shirts, and I pierced my nose. So, in addition to all of these, and a recent haircut where my hair is even shorter than before, I have now acquired double takes, stares from people who look at me in disgust.

And when I was out with my friend, who happens to be a girl, they treat me differently than when I would come in with my boyfriend. And this goes along with me not wearing a lot of makeup, and feeling more comfortable in my natural skin rather than heavy makeup, not that there's anything wrong with anyone who feels comfortable in it.

Frankly, this is so utterly amusing to me that it doesn't phase me anymore. The gay comments or the "transition" comments or the little boy comments, screw them all. I want to look the way that I feel confident in looking. I want to look in the mirror and think, yes, this is me and I feel good about myself.

So why this long spiel? Why does it matter about my hair? Well, it's not just the hair. It's this way that women are supposed to look. It's the notion that girls must have long, beautiful hair, natural beauty with makeup on top of that that almost makes you unrecognizable, and this perfect body that is literally unattainable. When I cut my hair, I wasn't trying to fit a mold.

I cut it because of my lack of confidence and I actually wanted to feel comfortable in my skin for once. I wanted to look in the mirror, and I wanted to look often without seeing every little blemish and imperfection and focus on the parts that I love. And I fell in love with myself when I changed my perception. People have never given me more compliments, I've never felt so confident and my whole outlook has changed.

I am so sick of the way that girls have to look these days. And I'm sick of the "dyke" and "transitioning" comments, because they're not hurting me, they're hurting a beautiful community where there's nothing wrong with being a part of it. My advice is, just do it. Cut all your hair off, get the piercings, get the tattoos, where what you wanna wear and feel confident in it. You only have one life, live it giving society hell.