Hair today, gone tomorrow

A moment my mother thought would never come.

I've had long hair since I was in my very early teens. It's been a huge part of my identity, has got me into more than a few scrapes, and is something that almost everyone that knows me associates with me. It proclaims my love of loud Metal music, and a desire for nonconformity. It is, simply and literally, part of me.

And now I'm offering to, for the first time in my life, shave it all off.

Why, you might or might not ask? A few different reasons. It's something that has honestly terrified me in the past, as a large part of my identity was very much tied into the length of my hair. To have short hair was to give in, to become a drone, to surrender the rebellious streak I fought so hard to keep. Now...I'm older, and perhaps a tiny bit wiser, and can accept that who I am will not be fundamentally changed by this act.

It's still a big deal to me, and I'm still scared, but doing it this way in public, I can maybe face that fear, overcome it and grow as a person, and also do some good.

And about doing good...I'm raising money here for the National Immigration Law Center, a highly rated and respected charity that is dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of low income immigrant workers. In this political climate, their work is absolutely vital in getting aid to people who desperately need it, and I urge people to give generously to this cause.

I'm looking at running this fundraiser for a month, and then getting my head shaved at an upcoming L5R tournament at my local games store (with the store owner's permission). I'm also going to be asking my incredible wife to do the actual deed. There will be pictures. Possibly videos. It'll be a lot of fun.

So that's it. By putting this out there, I'm making it official and something I can't later rescind. Please donate, and make my hair sacrifice worthwhile!