I was more tired of being looked at the way men look at young women with long, blonde hair. It was mid-summer, and I was tired of the stickiness at the base of my neck. It was the first time in my life I had ended a relationship so decisively, putting my own needs before the feelings of the nice-enough-man who said he loved me. It was after a break-up, so maybe it started there. The author in 2016, a few months prior to cutting her hair.