For many Taylor students, this unprecedented time of social distancing and self-isolation at home has led to trying out some new hairstyles.
Junior Bekah Groeling was one who opted for a new haircut right before Taylor students left campus for the semester.
“Honestly, I knew my time at Taylor for the semester was about to end and I was feeling stuck,” Groeling said. “I knew I had no control over the situations at hand, and nothing I could do to make it any easier for others. So logically, I got a great idea of something I did have control over — my hair — and figured, it's impulsive, it'll provide a much-needed break from all the virus talk, and if it looks like crap, no one will see it for a while. So I figured why not cut it?”
Her friend, junior Grace Hester, has experience cutting hair so they embarked on this hair-cutting adventure together in a dorm bathroom.
While at home in quarantine, Groeling was feeling cooped up and in need of another change so she went and bought a box of hair dye.
“I have never had a friend cut my own hair and never dyed my own hair,” Groeling said. “But I was a poor college student in need of a change to give me a laugh in our crazy changing world, so here we are. Did it help? 100%. I'm not saying impulsive decisions are always the way to solve your problems, but cutting off a few inches and dyeing your hair is a fun and easy way to liven up your life.”
Like Groeling, junior Emily Knight decided to make a change and had a friend in Gerig shave her head before leaving for break.
Knight said that the decision to shave her head wasn’t impulsive, but the circumstances of COVID-19 and impending self-isolation pushed her choice.
“I already had short hair and I wanted to try having a shaved head, and the timing between the weather and having time to grow it back out meant that March was a good time,” Knight said.
Overall, Knight would recommend shaving your head with friends. She believes that she will continue to shave her head in self-isolation as it is the easiest DIY haircut.
Though sophomore Joel Freyman is currently growing his hair out and has not cut it during quarantine, he has been cutting his own hair for four years.
The first time Freyman cut his hair he remembers doing it with a beard trimmer to give himself a mohawk. Though a little uneven in the back, it didn’t look bad, he said.
Having acquired a bit of experience in cutting his own hair, Freyman advises doing some research on Youtube before getting started, but also says a lot of learning comes with experimentation.
“Go for it!” Freyman said. “Hair grows back so it is nothing too permanent. I even dyed my hair when I was younger. I looked weird but it was just a phase for a month or so. ... Cut your hair now while we are not at school because if you are not satisfied with it, you got all summer to grow it out and look good for fall semester!”
Groeling has similar advice saying that there are a lot of things you can’t control in life, but you can have fun with the things you can control.
She encourages students to use this time to try new things.
“Laugh where you can, try new things, live your life the best you can with what you have,” Groeling said. “And when it comes to cutting and dyeing your hair, why not try it now? No one is going to see you for the next few months anyway, so if it looks horrible, who will know?”
