"Have you had an experience that changed you?" "During my Vipassana course in 2012, I came across a Chinese lady with a shiny, clean shaven head. She looked so cute and badass - I wondered whether I could ever pull off something like that, because I really loved how it looked. Somehow though, I had the fear that if I did it, people would look at me in a different way - my boyfriend, family and friends.
Cut to 2017, after my post graduation when I was devastated because of a break up. It was one of those times where you go through insecurity and wonder, 'what's wrong with me?'. It was during this time that I went for a solo trip to Himachal and really began to soul search and look for answers. When I got to the McLeod Ganj Mountains, I got off the bus and headed straight to the nearest barber - I asked him to shave all my hair off. He looked at me in disbelief because I had really long, think, beautiful hair - but on my insistence, he went on to do it.
For the next few days, I was in the mountains, meditating, just by myself and I experienced a high like never before - I felt free and liberated. It changed my life - I found answers and peace within me. Shaving my head wasn't a haphazard decision that I took over night - it was something I needed to do for ME. It symbolized leaving my old thoughts, grudges, negative and self-destructive patterns behind.
For me, those days of soul searching were the most precious - I looked in the mirror and loved myself. I found myself beautiful and didn't need any external validation for it. I left the mountains, a new person and then came back home to a mixed reaction. People asked me if I was a lesbian, I had a disease or if someone had passed away - but it didn't phase me…I was too busy in love with myself to really bother!" (excerpt) Humans of Bombay, Fb