My Hairy, Funny New Years Resolution

by John
(LA, California)

I was always the guy whose hair was a little longer than the other guys. I took a fair amount of teasing from friends and family about my long hair. Then a few years ago in mid-December, my brother Josh and best friend Brian challenged me to go a whole year without cutting my hair.

I was tired of their teasing, so I made that my New Years resolution.

At the time, I thought it was just a funny New Years resolution, made in the spirit of taking on a dare.

By summer my hair had grown quite a bit. Around that time, I decided that at the end of the year I would donate my hair to "Locks for Love." That is a charitable organization that makes hair pieces for children who lose their hair from disease, especially cancer.

The minimum hair length required to make a hair donation is 10 inches. I was sure I would have enough by the end of the year.

By fall I was back in college. My hair was long enough that some of my school friends didn’t recognize me. I was determined not to cut my hair until January.

One night in November, Brian and four other friends pulled a prank on me. They sneaked into my room and cut my hair while I was sleeping. At first I was so angry ... I couldn’t understand why they would do that when I was so close to completing my full year without a haircut!

Luckily, I was still able to donate my hair - it was about 11 inches long - to "Locks for Love."

From this experience I learned that new years resolutions are not just about giving up or changing a personal habit. I feel I did something truly worthwhile for someone else.