That's why her hair's so big - its full of Secrets

It's no secret that hairdressers are wise beyond their years. They are like second-tier therapists that cut your hair at the same time. Through the years they watch their clientele get married, send their kids to college, file divorces, and have amazing adventures. I have been sitting in my hair dresser’s chair since I moved to Colorado at 3 years old, so she has basically seen me grow up. I’ve never gotten sick of her pleas for me to never die my hair, her swearing me to never go to Great Clips again, and supporting me when I need hair therapy and decide to chop my long locks. Because my mom has been her client for 19 years, and moms love to share their children’s personal lives (again, therapists), I’m pretty sure she knows me better than most of my close friends.

This goes both ways. I have seen her in more hairstyles than I can even remember, spiky with blonde and brown highlights all the way to loose blown out blonde curls. She has more volume than I’ll ever achieve - relating to the Mean Girls quote above. But instead of secrets, she is full of wisdom and advice. She has heard countless stories of loss and triumph over the years and has experienced a slew of life’s curveballs herself that has given her a wisdom incomparable to most other professions.

A few months back, I started documenting things people would say to me when I told them I was going on Semester at Sea. I heard a range of responses like “Welp, I’ve never met a racist traveler” from my doctor and other unusual responses as well as “Wait you’re on a boat…for five months?” My favorite came from my recent hair cut when I told my hairdresser I was studying abroad and how nervous I was about everything. She replied,

“fear and excitement often mask themselves as the same emotion, you just have to choose which perspective to look at it.”

I about cried sitting in the salon chair. With the date of departure nearing rapidly, my excitement was quickly morphing into fear and anxiety.

I get to travel the world for five months… which means I won’t be home for five months, I won’t see my best friend or family for five months, I won’t see my dog and wow I have so much packing to do….did I turn that form in?? I started to be consumed with the worries instead of being filled with the wonder that I get to travel. the. world. for five months. I get to go to Japan, China, India, Ghana, Morocco, South Africa, and Vietnam to name a few - which are places most people will never experience. I get to interact with people who speak languages I’ve never heard in America and see the beautiful world around me by sea.

The process of preparing for this grand adventure has been nothing close to easy. From the application, to the dozens of scholarship essays, resending my visas three times, searching for a sublease only to have three girls fall through, and finally packing my wardrobe. Ya girls got A LOT of clothes and I’m not willing to compromise on any of it - quite to my mother's dismay. After shuffling around the weight of my suitcases, laying my full body weight on vacuum seal bags, and one melt down… we finally got everything to fit!

I had to do more “adult” phone calls to last me a lifetime and have learned so much about myself this past year of preparation. I cannot believe it seriously happens tomorrow and all this hard work and all the tears are paying off.

My hairdresser may never know the impact of that simple nugget of wisdom had on me, but I have reframed my thinking from fear to excitement every time I feel the anxiety creeping in. I have so many emotions in my body and have absolutely no control of the ones that pop out at random times, but in a nut shell, I am exceptionally excited.

This is going to be the most amazing experience of my entire life. Semester at Sea is going to change my life. And I am running full force into the fear and embracing every uncomfortable and unspeakably amazing moment of the next five months.