Everyone knows my hobbies; theatre, scrapbooking- so today I have decided to write about different hobbies that I have that I don’t usually talk about or define as “hobby” in the traditional sense.
Hair: Admiring hair has been a hobby I have had since I was a very little girl. It was probably my first hobby. Young girls are almost conditioned (no pun intended) to admire hair. It’s on our Barbie dolls and toy horses in inhumanly long and thick amounts. We are taught early on by the likes of Rapunzel and Walt Disney that our virtue lies in our hair. As impressionable wee tots we soak in the commercials, the print ads, the salon windows- and we admire and mimic our sisters and mothers. I have always had a deep interest in hair. I have loved and admired scores upon scores of tresses, envying the sleek and straight, emulating the glossy ringlet curls, grasping at knowledge for how to get that “perfect” look. As a teen and through college, I manifested this hobby in cutting and coloring my hair over and over again in a wide variety of colors from henna black to strawberry blond. I tried highlights and lowlights, cheap boxed creams to hundred dollar foils. I love the feeling that changing your hair affords- a freedom, a sense of adventure that you can manifest in a totally new personality to match your new look. As a grown woman, I have retired most of my more adventurous cutting and coloring. Now, I am more obsessed with hair care. I read up on brushes, blow dryers, curling irons- I have tried silicone based products and silicone free products, all natural and organic shampoos that don’t lather, dry shampoos that you brush right in, cheap bottles of Suave and bank-busting bottles of Keratase. I have created home-made remedies with rose water, honey, olive oil, milk, nut oil, even eggs! in the pursuit of the perfect conditioner. I love it. I love watching youtube video tutorials of hair styling demonstrations and flipping through salon haircut magazines. I genuinely enjoy spending time washing and brushing my hair. I’m like the perfect 50′s stereotype who doesn’t go out for the night if I would rather wash my hair. And why not? I say. Why not appreciate and care for yourself not to attract a mate or impress your friends, but because it is fun and interesting and adventurous.
Weddings: I know, I know. With all the weddings I have been and will be a part of in these last few years, it is hard to say weddings are a hobby and not a part time job! But the truth is I have always loved weddings since Ariel and Prince Eric got married by the boner-popping priest at the end of The Little Mermaid. I secretly amassed a towering collection of bridal magazines and books with etiquette, style guides, how-tos, craft projects, cake ideas, etc etc… Of course I want to get married some day, and of course it is hard to attend wedding after wedding of those I hold dear knowing I am no closer to finding my life partner now than I was ten years ago, I still enjoy every moment. I love to help plan, to decorate, to make stupid favors and tie up 150 little place cards. I love feeling a part of other people’s expressions of love. Here is a secret I have never told anyone before: every wedding I attend, I secretly write my own “maid of honor” speech for the couple. I don’t think I am ever going to have the opportunity to actually give a maid of honor speech, so I keep a collection of notes about what I would have said about the happy couple, if the responsibility to give the toast had been mine. I like to judge my toasts against the actual speeches maid by the best man and maid of honor (mine are always better). It makes me feel happy, like my hobby is actually a collection. I collect weddings. I collect the fleeting feeling of love, partially because I fear I will never have it myself, and partially because I like to be able to help remind my friends of their great loves when they are in times of trial.
So there you have it, two little hobbies of mine that you didn’t actually know about. I actually had to get up in the middle of writing this post so I could brush my hair out (something I hardly ever do because curls and hairbrushes are not friends) and boy did it feel great! I envy you straight haired people!
See you tomorrow!
